The Heat own the NBA's third-best record and have become "arguably the league's hottest box office attraction since Michael Jordan's Bulls," according to Mark Schwarz of ESPN. The offseason addition of Fs LeBron James and Chris Bosh to G Dwyane Wade have "made the Miami Heat rock stars" on the road. Heat F James Jones said the team could "be in a city and it's 3:00am, 4:00am in the morning and it's 20 below, and you have 100 people out there with their cameras and their camera phones and their flashes just to get a glimpse of those three guys." However, Schwarz noted there is "one enormous difference" between the Heat and the Bulls teams of the '90s. Heat F Juwan Howard said of the Bulls, "There were a lot of fans that really cheered for the road team. With this group, there are a lot of people that's against us, want to see us fail." Schwartz noted fans "seem drawn to the star power but repulsed by how this constellation was formed." Heat coach Eric Spoelstra has said James "likes the role of villain right now." But Schwarz reported those close to James "say ultimately this is a man who wants to be loved, not vilified." Schwarz: "Earlier in the season when he encountered some hostile treatment in Memphis, he wondered, 'Why would anyone there hold a grudge?' ... But like it or not, King James has become a polarizing figure, with fans across the nation almost duty-bound to voice their feelings" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 2/9).
THE JAMES GANG: In Miami, Greg Cote writes Wade "remains the face of the franchise based on loyally and roots, on history and habit," and because "the franchise says so." But James is "taking over." Cote: "The team will be his, if it isn't already. The town eventually will follow" (MIAMI HERALD, 2/10).
