3.0 is coming

Deshawn Stevenson gets his wish. It’s Bullets v. Traveliers 3.0 and this time, it’s personal. Seriously. Maybe Lebron is cool with it, too.

LeBron on being assured of playing the Wizards in the first round: “Yay, that is so fun, I am excited. I wanted to play somebody else, but if we have to play somebody I’m glad it is Washington. This is the third straight year of trash talk. I’ll read the clippings and it’ll help me get some more gas under my belt.”
Three reactions from me: 1. The first line he said with heavy sarcasm. 2. LeBron said he wanted to play someone else like he meant he was tired of playing Washington, but I sensed truth in his voice. 3. I have no idea what he means about getting gas under his belt. I assume you want gas out from under your belt. Isn’t that was Beano is for?

Because the Traveliers eliminated the Bullets from the playoffs the last two seasons, it is only natural that bitterness would develop among Bullets fans. However, even the Cleveland media seems intent on exploring the feud between Deshawn and Lebron and the part it would play in the series.

Then there’s the budding DeShawn Stevenson-LeBron James feud, which has been good theater. It is hard to believe a superstar and a role player could get into such a mess, but it’s happened and it’s gotten rather intense.

In case you’re behind, here’s a recap. When the Cavs beat the Wizards on Feb. 22, the day after the big trade, some on the Wizards felt the Cavs and, James especially, were disrespectful during the game. Stevenson missed a last-second shot that would’ve won the game.

Two weeks ago, Stevenson and James had several heated exchanges in the Wizards’ victory over the Cavs in Washington. Stevenson covered James down the stretch, including drawing a charge on him and defending James on a last-second shot that missed.

Afterward, Stevenson said James was ”overrated.” James responded in the media by comparing himself to hip-hop mogul Jay-Z and Stevenson to one-hit wonder Soulja Boy. Stevenson raised the stakes again, by telling the Washington Post that James said something personally insulting about him to former teammate Drew Gooden, who passed it on to friend Stevenson, which is the source of his bad feelings.

”We’re all in the same profession,” Stevenson told the Post. ”We don’t need to talk bad about one another. . . . I was ticked off and that’s why I said something to him at tip-off. So it goes back further than people think.”

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Stevenson and James might indeed have some personal stuff behind the scenes. Stevenson has dated LeToya Luckett and Farrah Franklin, both of whom were members of R&B group Destiny’s Child. Of course, James is very close to former Destiny’s Child member Beyonce Knowles, who is engaged to close friend Jay-Z. James’ friend and manager, Maverick Carter, also dated Kelly Rowland, another former Destiny’s Child member.

Who knows what all that means, but the point is James and Stevenson move in the same social circles and it has no doubt carried over to the court.

What does any of that have to do with basketball? Maybe nothing, but it only makes the depth of this feud more interesting.

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If the series does develop, it would no doubt pack the most intrigue of the Eastern Conference first-round pairings. And maybe some of the best off-court chatter.

There is no backing down from Deshawn. According to Bullets beat reporter Ivan Carter, Deshawn is

serious about getting Soulja Boy a courtside seat for games against Cleveland at Verizon Center in the first round. And, he said he’s serious about putting Soulja Boy in one of his game jerseys.
“Oh, he’s going to be there, watch,” Stevenson said though he said it with a smirk that made it hard for me to tell if he was serious. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. He also said that he’ll have some “good stuff” for us after the game. My read: he’s going to call LeBron James out some more.

Gilbert Arenas, still working his way back into shape, wrote this last week on his NBA blog:

I think everybody wants Cleveland in that first round. They’ve been a .500 team since that trade and everybody wants a chance at that matchup. We want Cleveland for our own reasons, we don’t think they can beat us in the playoffs three years straight. It’s hard to beat a team three years straight. We want to try our luck.

DC Pro Sports Report will have a detailed analysis of 3.0 up soon after Washington’s regular season ends tomorrow night in Orlando.

Meanwhile, if you need further evidence that Lebron James is bad for humanity, consider this: He talks and the result is that innocent people get struck in the head with basketballs. It’s a fact.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqNMUL3VwoI&hl=en]