Miami Heat: LeBron James' Injury Will Cost Him MVP Bid and Chance at NBA Title

It's been a great 2012 season for the Miami Heat and superstar LeBron James up to this point.

The Heat are right near the top in the Eastern Conference, with a 35-13 record and James has been at the top of his game, on the verge of another MVP award, averaging 26.7 PPG, 8.3 RPG and 6.6 APG.

He's been outstanding until the past five games, where injuries have seemed to take their toll on James.

It's the injuries that ultimately will cost James his third MVP award and quite possibly a chance at his first ring.

He's been playing with a banged up elbow for the past five games and now ESPN's Chris Broussard reports that LeBron also has a dislocated finger as well. The finger issue happened in Miami's latest loss to the Indiana Pacers and it's something that James was able to play through since it's on his non-shooting hand, but his performance of late has been anything but LeBron-like.

A banged up LeBron is not a great LeBron.

His recent five-game struggles in which James has averaged only 18.4 points and shot a shade under 40 percent from the floor could mean the superstar might need some rest. If LeBron's not dominant, the Heat become a beatable team, evident by their less-than-impressive 8-6 record in the month of March.

Now all of that doesn't mean that much. This Miami team has their eyes on the postseason, but in terms of the MVP, Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant has certainly closed the gap and pretty soon will be viewed as the favorite if James doesn't get his game going soon.

His recent struggles have opened the door for Durant and the way he and the Thunder have been playing, he's likely to walk right through it.

As far as a championship, that's a long way away, but the Heat certainly want LeBron healthy and playing at his best heading into the postseason. It's a dangerous situation to think a team can turn on the switch come playoff time.

Even a team as talented as Miami.

Resting LeBron could be the best thing for Miami in the long run. It likely will cost him the MVP, but will give him a greater chance at what his ultimate goal should be: a championship.