NBA Rumors: How Derek Fisher Would Help LeBron James Become a Winner

The legend of LeBron James in the clutch is at the same time both true and untrue. His supporters would like to toss out his failures in favor of his successes. His haters would take his failures and leave his successes out of the discussion.

The fact is that James has his moments, for better and for worse. 

Here's the reality of LeBron James. He scores at a rate of 35.8 points per 48 minutes in clutch situations, where the score is closer than five and there are fewer than five minutes left in the game. At the same time, he shoots just .400 in that situation. He hits .200 form deep and just .700 from the stripe. 

Then again, he averages 18.8 rebounds, which is second best in the NBA in clutch time, and he averages 13.2 assists per 48 minutes, which is third best in clutch time. 36 points, 19 rebounds and 13 assists during the clutch is hardly "disappearing" as some would have you believe.

Some might even call that conservatively "pretty darned amazing." 

On the other hand (I think that puts us up to four hands here) James has hit only two of his 10 attempts with 24 seconds or less left in the game to tie or take the lead during his tenure with the Heat. The media has made a bit of an ordeal out of that. 

In the last few weeks there were three opportunities to win a game, once during the All-Star Game and twice during the regular season, he passed up the shot to someone else. The first of those is a bit overhyped, particularly if viewed in isolation. In the All-Star Game, though he was red hot, he had no real shot and he gave it up to a great clutch shooter in Deron Williams.

The second of those, he passed it back to Udonis Haslem, as there was a closing double-team—but only closing, and it was a shot we've seen James take and make a thousand times. Haslem, on the other hand, is not an effective jump shooter. James hits about 66 points higher on his jump shots than Haslem. 

There are those who have construed this as the "right" basketball play. That's probably generous. At most, you could say, "It's not bad basketball."

But that's true at 3:35 in the second quarter, not on the last shot of the game. 

Regardless of your take on that, though, it's not a "confident" basketball play, unless you take the copout: "He's confident in his teammate." O.K. It's not the self-confident basketball play.

Let's get past the semantics and the justifications. LeBron James had made a much more contested three just moments earlier; he could have made that shot. 

But then even that shot was nothing compared to what happened next, when, with the game tied, he had the ball and summoned Dwyane Wade to come and take the shot. 

Granted, there are those who have argued that James shouldn't take the last shot and that he did the right thing when he called over Wade to finish the game. I've never been one of them.

I don't have an issue with Wade taking the shot, but I don't like it happening in that manner. 

I think there's an issue with LeBron trying to fit next to Wade when the game is on the line. When you have two heroes and one ball, "hero ball" becomes a bit of an oddity. James is at the point where he is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't take the shot. 

What he doesn't seem to know is how to be the second option when the game is on the line. Enter Derek Fisher, who has spent a career being just that to Kobe Bryant. 

Fisher's reputation as a "closer" is perhaps overrated. In his career, he's only 12-of-42 with 24 seconds or less and the game on the line, including the postseason. However, four of those were assisted by Kobe Bryant. Another was assisted by Deron Williams.

It might sound like a small thing, but what Fisher can teach James is the mentality to be ready as the second option, and to have the confidence to take and make the shot when the ball comes to him. James is a great player, but to be among the greatest he needs to capture the mentality of a winner. 

That's something that even Dwyane Wade, who has as much experience as the second option as James has had can't teach him. 

The reason I get disturbed by James summoning Wade is that after he gave the ball to Wade he just went over and took his position out on the wing, but just kind of "watched" Wade win the game. He more or less took himself out of the play. That's not the mentality of a winner. 

That's the one thing that Fisher has: that mental lock on winning. Whether he has the ball or not, he is ready to go for the kill shot. James seems to lack that, whether he has the ball or not. He can learn it from Fisher.