Jeff Zillgitt

USA TODAY Sports

MIAMI — The Lance Stephenson Internet memes are good.

Stephenson's photo edited to be blowing into an old video game cartridge. Stephenson sipping on a milkshake with the cast from Friends. Stephenson blowing down the Miami Heat's house. Stephenson blowing 50 Cent's first pitch way outside. Stephenson blowing bubbles and candles on a birthday cake. Stephenson blowing on soup.

Congratulations, Internet. You win again.

But if you thought the actual incident was funny and entertaining, there's one important man who doesn't.

Asked via text message if he were bothered by Stephenson blowing in James' ear, Pacers president Larry Bird replied, "Yes I am."

Bird knows. He could trash talk in his time, get inside someone's head and then back it up.

"Blowing in his face probably crosses the line," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said Thursday. "That's not really who we are. We want to be a competitive team, but we don't want to cross the line."

What did Stephenson win or even gain by blowing into LeBron James' ear during the fourth quarter of Game 5? Sure, the Pacers won, but at what cost to the Pacers and Stephenson?

Early Wednesday afternoon, Stephenson told news reporters he said things he shouldn't have said (referring to saying James showed a "sign of weakness by engaging in trash) and called it a learning experience.

"I've been learning since I got the league," Stephenson said. "I've come a long way and I'm going to keep learning until I get to that point where I'm a real pro."

Yet, even after a lengthy talk with Pacers coach Frank Vogel, Stephenson later that night resorted to his trolling antics, which also included jumping in a Heat huddle with Erik Spoelstra, Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole and the unnecessary flopping.

What did Stephenson learn?

His actions could cost him money as a free agent. Officials from other teams are watching.

One league GM told USA TODAY Sports he didn't like that Stephenson blew in James' ear and said he would have said something to the player. Another said that's what Stephenson needs to play the way he does – as long his team is fine with it, but the executive wondered if poking the bear were smart.

Another executive wasn't a fan and another brought up the point that escapes Stephenson: There is a difference between gamesmanship and sportsmanship and until Stephenson figures out the difference, he will continue to interject himself into the story negatively.

They spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about another team's player.

"Whatever you get away with is fair game," Dwyane Wade said. "That's the way it goes.

"Everyone has their own tactics, their own antics. What we have to do and what we've always done is we have to focus on the task at hand. We have to focus on the game of basketball. We win more times than not when we do that."

Since Miami's loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 Finals, the Heat for the most part have avoided these pitfalls and concentrated on basketball.

"I'm just here to play basketball, man," James said. "All the extracurricular activities, I don't really get into. I'm just trying to win. We need one more game to get The Finals. That's my only concern. We put ourselves in a position to win tonight, and as competitors, as professionals, that's what we are."

The key word is professional. Since Miami's loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 Finals, the Heat for the most part have avoided these pitfalls and concentrated on basketball.

It's just not getting in the huddle or flopping or blowing in someone's ear, it's the over-exaggerated manner in which he does all of it.

Stephenson plays with an edge, which is fine, but more often than not, he looks like he's about to go over the edge, which is not fine. It can be a detriment.

Even if you don't believe Stephenson's moves are bush-league, they come at the wrong time.

The Pacers are trying to force a Game 7, trying to come back from a 3-1 deficit against the two-time defending champions and Stephenson has triggered another distraction. More focus should be on Paul George delivering the kind of performance needed. But it's not.

Furthermore, Stephenson is irritating the wrong the people. Not only Bird, but James, too.

The game following Stephenson's "sign of weakness" comment, James had 32 points, 10 rebounds and five assists and the Heat stomped the Pacers.

James is coming off one of his worst player performance statistically speaking: a playoff career-low in points and minutes and his second-worst playoff shooting performance.

Stephenson also blew in James' ear during last season's Eastern Conference finals, in Game 4 while lining up for a free throw. The Heat lost Game 4 of that series but won two of the next three, with James averaging 30.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists in Games 5, 6 and 7.​

There are players who are talented but also irritating, the kind of player opponents hate playing against but would love on their team. Not sure that's the case with Stephenson.

For a guy who seemingly played himself into one of those four-year, $40 million contracts, many teams will ask if Stephenson — and all that comes with him, the good and bad — is worth it.

The Pacers need to answer that question this summer, too.