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Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony may be a little pouty, but he is not a sore loser unlike his 2003 NBA draft classmate LeBron James.
Melo pouted on the sidelines while watching the clock tick down in the Nuggets’ Game 5 loss to L.A. in the Western Conference Finals, and he looked dazed on the sidelines Friday as Kobe Bryant and the Lakers dealt the Nuggets a 27-point Game 6 loss to advance to an NBA record 30th NBA Finals.
Nevertheless, Anthony hung around to shake hands with the Lakers, and he and Bryant shared a five-second embrace before he headed back to Denver’s locker room. And while Denver players sorely boasted that they are “the best in the West” and more talented than L.A., Anthony disagreed.
“We can always talk, we can say it all day every day,” Anthony said. “But until we go out there and beat the Lakers, they’re going to be the best team in the West.”
NBA MVP LeBron James, on the other hand, behaved liked a sore loser after the Magic knocked Cleveland out of NBA title contention Saturday with a 103-90 victory in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals to advance to Orlando’s first NBA Finals since 1995.
As soon as the final buzzer sounded to signal the end to the Cavs’ record-breaking season, James pulled out his shirt, bowed his head and made a beeline to the Cavs’ lockers. No wave goodbye to Cleveland fans who endured the Magic’s home crowd full of hecklers. No congratulatory handshake to Orlando center Dwight Howard for putting up the 40 points usually customary for James, who finished with just 25 after being held scoreless in the second quarter and mustering only four points in the fourth. And no appearance at the postgame press conference.
Once in the locker room, James mumbled to his teammates that they’ve got to get better and he put on big headphones and sunglasses and walked past Nike execs, his mom and friends who were all waiting for him after the game, said Cleveland Plain Dealer writer Brian Windhorst on The Dan Patrick Show. Windhorst added that James also threw a tantrum when he was overlooked for the NBA All-Star Team as a rookie.
Windhorst also revealed that Cavs guard Mo Williams beat James off the court after the season-ending loss to Orlando.
Yeah, but at least Williams had the guts to attend the postgame conference in spite of his pre-Game 4 guarantee that Cleveland would win the series to advance to the franchise’s second NBA Finals in three seasons.
James provided a bad example of sportsmanship for all of the kids and budding high school and college hoop stars who admire James, who many experts including Lakers Hall-of-Famer Jerry West consider to be on pace to be the greatest NBA player ever.
You can stick up for the 24-year-old James and say he was disappointed because the NBA Finals were supposed to feature his No. 23 vs. Bryant’s No. 24 after the Cavs’ posted the league’s best regular season record and swept their first two playoffs opponents only to be outplayed and outcoached by the Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals.
James finally spoke up for himself, a day after the Game 6 loss, and he mentioned that he emailed Howard to congratulate his Olympic teammate.
“It’s hard for me to congratulate somebody after you just lose to them,” James said. “I’m a winner. It’s not being a poor sport or anything like that. If somebody beats you up, you’re not going to congratulate them. That doesn’t make sense to me. I’m a competitor. That’s what I do. It doesn’t make sense for me to go over and shake somebody’s hand.”
Sounds like a poor sport.
Anthony could have used a similar excuse after losing to his Olympic teammate Bryant after the Nuggets avoided a sixth consecutive first-round exit to make the West Conference Finals for the first time since Anthony’s first birthday. Judging by his facial expressions and body language in the Nuggets’ final two playoff losses, Melo was obviously very disappointed. But at least he had the graciousness to suck it up, congratulate the winning team and slap hands with the fans before making his final walk to the lockers this season.
James could have done the same, but instead we are all witnesses to the Chosen One being a poor sport. But, he can redeem himself next year when he returns for the final year of his Cavs’ contract.

By Teneshia LaFaye
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Cleveland point guard Mo Williams guaranteed his team will win the Eastern Conference Finals against Orlando because he said two of the next three games are in Cleveland and he can’t see his team losing two games at home.
Maybe Williams should have made his prognostication after Game 4 tonight in Orlando because last I checked, the Magic host two of the next three games in their Amway Arena, where the Cavs are 0-3 this season and haven’t won since February of last year. And with a 2-1 series lead, Orlando can use its actual home court advantage to grab the two victories needed to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1995.
Cleveland, which posted the NBA’s best regular season record, had home court advantage at the beginning of this series, but the Cavs let the Magic come back from 16- and 23-point deficits during Games 1 and 2 in Quicken Arena to steal a win before heading back to Orlando for three of the next four games.
In the last matchup on Sunday, the Magic shook off Cavs star LeBron James’ history-making, buzzer-beating, game-winning three-pointer two days earlier to defeat Cleveland 99-89 in Amway. And if Orlando continues its home dominance of Cleveland on Tuesday, the Magic would only need one more victory to win the series.
So Williams’ third prediction may be correct. He said he doesn’t foresee his Cavs losing two home games. Cleveland is scheduled to host Games 5 and 7. But there may not even be a Game 7. Orlando just needs to take care of home court in Game 4 tonight and Game 6 on Saturday to advance to the NBA Championship series.
Even if the Magic loses tonight, they only need to steal one more victory in Cleveland, not the two Williams suggested, plus one more home win to close the series. The Cavs can force a Game 7, but that could require them to win two games in Orlando, where Cleveland has lost three in a row.
I’m going to give Williams the benefit of the doubt and assume that he still felt disoriented from an admittedly head-ringing fall in the Cavs’ Game 3 loss that left him with a bruised eye and four stitches. Before tonight’s game, one of Cleveland’s trainers should hold up one finger in front of Williams’ face. If the point guard keeps seeing two, his head needs to be checked.

By Teneshia LaFaye
Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/teneshialafaye
Add me on Myspace: www.myspace.com/tlafaye