NBA Playoffs: Will Free Throws Doom the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Playoffs?

Before I begin, I would like to make it clear that I fully anticipate that the Cleveland Cavaliers will most certainly mount a serious push for the NBA Finals.

Once again, for the second year in a row, they have clearly been the best regular season team in the NBA and should be considered by everyone to be one of the favorites to win it all in June.

But, if there is one thing which could lead to their downfall, it would be their inability to consistently knock down free throws.

One of this year's best NBA stories has been how the Cavaliers have managed to adapt their team with the purpose of capturing a NBA championship. And at a glance, Cleveland looks every bit the part of a champion.

The Cavaliers have one of the league's better team defenses, and they may have the deepest bench and they have the league's most complete talent in LeBron James; all of which are pretty good championship contender indicators.

But, Cleveland's NBA-worst 72 percent free throw percentage could be a critical flaw on their road to a championship, and the ability to covert from the charity stripe is something that cannot be understated.

Free throws under the pressure of the postseason can likely mean the difference between winning and losing on the game's greatest stage.

And if you don't believe me, ask Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu about last season's NBA Finals.

The Magic had an opportunity in game four to seal the win and even up the series, but misses from the free throw line by Turkoglu and Howard breathed life into the Los Angeles Lakers.

If either player had been capable of hitting a single free throw, it could have changed the scope of the series. But instead, the Lakers went on to win game four in overtime and eventually the series in the next game.

And while Orlando had other opportunities along the way, if you want to point to one crucial flaw of the Magic, their inability to convert from the charity stripe with their season on the line would certainly be it.

What's troubling for Cleveland is that history doesn't suggest a poor free throw team will somehow be transformed in the postseason. In fact, most team's problems from the charity stripe are often magnified.

Earlier in the decade, teams chose to use the hack-a-Shaq strategy on Los Angeles Lakers' center Shaquille O'Neal. And in the cases of Portland and Sacramento, the strategy almost worked.

Teams would risk sending O'Neal to the free throw line in anticipation of a miss, as his below 50 percent average allowed these teams to trim the deficits and fight their way back into games.

Coincidentally, O'Neal is now a member of the Cavaliers' team and there is little doubt this strategy will not be given a long look by all the teams that stand in Cleveland's path.

Even James has had his share of struggles from the free throw line. In order for him to realize the greatness he seeks, a virtuoso performance from the charity stripe in the postseason will be critical.

I feel he understands the urgency facing his Cavalier team, but can the same be said for other members of the team, who don't quite grasp the importance of converting from the free throw line?

It is the one place where James cannot help his teammates out, because under the glow and flash of a thousand cameras, each player is isolated on the free throw line, marooned on an island alone.

How the Cavaliers perform under the weight of this pressure will likely determine their playoff fate. If they are unable to raise their free throw standards in the postseason, their future will have a familiar ending.