The Miami Heat are relying on LeBron James to live up to his "King" James moniker in these NBA Finals to topple the San Antonio Spurs. Dwyane Wade's health seemingly allows him to dominate only in spurts, and Chris Bosh's uneven play has made him difficult to trust.
With the pressure of carrying two struggling stars, as well as inconsistent role players, James' hallmark this season, efficiency, has begun to desert him. After shooting 56.5 percent from the field during the best regular season of his storied career, James has shot better than 44 percent from the field just once in the Finals.
In the last three games, two of which have been Spurs victories, James has taken more than 20 shots; during the regular season LeBron attempted just 17.8 per game. The Miami Heat are too often playing contrary to the style that earned them 27 straight victories this season, both offensively and defensively.
The Heat entered the playoffs as the second-best defense in the Eastern Conference, statistically, behind the Indiana Pacers. However, their athleticism and scheme have been toyed with by Danny Green, who has drilled 25 trifectas in the series, an NBA Finals record, previously held by the Heat's Ray Allen.
Miami's role players have been outplayed thus far by San Antonio's. Throughout the year the Heat received sizable contributions from Allen, Shane Battier and Mario Chalmers, but of those three none is averaging over 13 points a night in the finals.
Even Mike Miller, lauded for his 5-of-5 performance from long distance in a blowout loss in Game 3, has had his production overrated. He's giving his team a mere 5.8 points a night, and not contributing in any other category.
All this points to James, once again, having to carry the entire team. Wade seems healthier, so he can count on assistance in the scoring category. However with Bosh playing up-and-down ball, and the rest of the guys cold, he will be responsible for both scoring and creating.
Above all, he must be efficient.
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