Why a Burning Hot LeBron James Is Terrifying for the Rest of the NBA

There are those who say that LeBron can't play in the clutch. Those are people who, frankly, don't watch very much basketball, or at the very least, don't watch LeBron James play very much in the clutch. I know, as a Bulls fan, that he can.

I know this because his play in the clutch is the reason the Heat were in the finals against Dallas last year. To argue that he can or can't is to argue with reality. 

The question is whether he does or doesn't. Against Chicago he did. Against Dallas he didn't. 

Last night against the San Antonio Spurs, it was like James flipped a switch. He just had the notion, "I'm tired of this losing nonsense," switched into a different gear that no one else in the world has and then dominated. 

Then he led the Heat in what was really an amazing half of basketball, where he utterly dominated on both ends of the court. 

When he decides to be, he's so easily the best player in the world, there's no stopping him. He just needs to have the confidence in who he is. 

That's why when rival GMs see the kind of performance he had last night, they shudder. They cry. They fret. But really there's nothing they can do. 

The amount of talent that James has is considerable. Mock that he said he took them to South Beach all you want, but whatever team you're a fan of, it would have been "Gold Coast," or "Long Beach," or the other "South Beach" that he'd said he was taking his talents to, and the fans there would have been as giddy as giddy gets. 

He's a monster talent. 

The question is just whether those talents are fully engaged, and that's just a confidence issue with him. When he's this hot, he believes in himself, and when he believes in himself, he's unstoppable. 

The LeBron James that played in the second half against the Spurs last night is about the scariest thing an NBA GM not named Pat Riley can face. He was playing like the James that can carry the Heat to the finals. Make no mistake about it.