LeBron James vs. Chris Bosh: Is the King the Least Clutch of Miami Heat Big 3?

Last night in the clutch against the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James did not score. Meanwhile, Chris Bosh was dominant. It's becoming a theme.

LeBron James just isn't the same player in the clutch he was last year. It seems the Finals broke him. 

I've never been one to argue that LeBron is a "choker" and I've defended him against those kinds of charges in the past. Last year he was third in the NBA in clutch scoring, based on five minutes left in the game and the score within five. 

In yesterday's game, he had no clutch-time points in a tight game and only had one field goal in the fourth quarter. Simply put, LeBron James is just not the same player as he was down the stretch last year. 

Look at his scoring compared to last year in the clutch. These are the numbers based on per-36-minutes rates. 

Year	FG	FGA	FG%	FT	FTA	FT%	Pts	Off Rtg
2011	8.9	20.5	44%	14.7	17.3	85%	33.9	117.6
2012	5.0	16.0	31%	7.0	12.0	58%	17.0	98.1

Now, take a look at Chris Bosh last year compared to this year. 

Year	FG	FGA	FG%	FT	FTA	FT%	Pts	Off Rtg
2011	4.3	9.2	47%	7.3	9.2	80%	16.8	118.7
2012	9.3	16.0	58%	4.0	6.0	67%	24.0	99.0

While last year it was pretty clear that James was the more clutch player, it's equally clear that this year Bosh has surpassed him. Some of that is an uptick in Bosh's production, but as much falls on the decrease in James' numbers.

It's not just the "numbers" either. Last night, LeBron James missed another key lay-in during the clutch time, the second game in a row he'd done so. He's not missing difficult shots, he's pressing too hard and missing easy ones. 

Did the Finals "break" James in the clutch? Contrary to popular belief, he was clutch before then. The statistics bear that out. His performance against the Bulls bears that out.

Since then, though, he hasn't been the same. For the Heat to win the title, he's going to need to get back to that kind of performance.