5 Reasons LeBron James Must Win His First Title This Season

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The Miami Heat are off to a good start at 22-7 on the season. But make no mistake, this team is going to be judged on what happens in the playoffs.

At the center of this is LeBron James, the Lightning Rod of the NBA. The longer that LeBron goes without winning a title, the more the criticism will continue to mount. This season is The King's best chance yet to win that elusive ring.

Here are five reasons why.

The Lockout

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By this being a reduced season because of the lockout, the teams that were probably going to have the least amount of turnover to their rosters were going to be considered the favorites because they wouldn't have to spend a lot of time learning new things, or getting familiar with new players.

Because of this, Chicago, Oklahoma City and Miami were the favorites. The Heat were very close to winning a title last year, and when you factor in the second year of growth for the nucleus of Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade and LeBron, this season for the Heat is championship or bust.

The lockout may be irrelevant by the time June rolls around, but it is still something that will be looked back on at the end of the season.

Every Team in the East Has Flaws

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Chicago is, without question, the biggest threat to the Heat, but questions remain about Chicago's second scorer over a seven-game series. Can Richard Hamilton or Luol Deng average 18 or 19 points over a seven game series?

Also, do Philly and Indiana lack the depth to beat the Heat in the playoffs? Has Boston's time passed? And are the Knicks, Magic and Hawks even threats?

No Team in the West Is a Favorite over the Heat

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Oklahoma City can beat Miami, but the lack of low post scoring will be the downfall of the Thunder if these teams play in the Finals.

The Clippers are another team that could knock off Miami, but the loss of Chauncey Billups, coupled with the fact that the Clippers don't play good enough defense and their foul shooting in close games is suspect means that Miami wins a long series.

San Antonio, Dallas, and the Lakers will cause trouble, but again it's hard to see them winning four games against the Heat.

This Is the Best Team That LeBron Has Played on in His Career

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Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are who they are, but Mario Chalmers is having his best season, shooting 50 percent from the field and almost 50 percent from three-point range.

Mike Miller is inconsistent, but he's shooting over 50 percent from the field and on threes. Shane Battier is providing perimeter defense, and Norris Cole has been very good in his rookie season.

LeBron Is Playing the Best Basketball of His Career

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LeBron has never taken this many high percentage shots.

Those desperation and fade away threes have been abandoned in favor of scoring in the post. He's using his 6'8'', 250lb frame on the low block to either bulldog defenders with power or use his quickness and athleticism to go around.

He's making all of the right reads, and if he keeps playing like this and the role players continue to support Wade and Bosh, Miami will be unbeatable in a seven-game series.