LeBron James: Why Miami Heat Star Will Choke Away MVP Award Down the Stretch

Miami Heat superstar LeBron James has put together a fantastic MVP-type season in 2012 and more importantly has picked up his play as of late, especially when it comes to scoring. He has averaged 29.6 points per game throughout Miami’s last eight.

Yet while he’s in the running for the MVP award, it’s the things James hasn’t done this season that will ultimately lead to him choking away the award he has held a firm grasp on all season.

LeBron’s numbers are certainly there, posting another big game Thursday night of 30 points, six rebounds and five assists, but he has been missing the big moment all season. Usually there’s a defining moment or two for an MVP throughout the season, and LeBron doesn’t have those.

With big games coming up the rest of the season against Chicago, New York and Boston, nothing he has done all season long will give fans any confidence that James will rise to the occasion in the big moment.

James is practically in a dead heat with Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant for the MVP, but Durant has risen to the occasion during big moments, LeBron has not, and there’s no indication that he will start doing so now.

Whether it’s a fair criticism or not, James is one of those players who is more remembered for the things he hasn’t done instead of the big things he has done.

He has had plenty of moments to come through in clutch but has rarely done so.

Sure, he filled the stat sheet Thursday night in a must-win situation for the Heat against the Chicago Bulls, but he missed a free throw with 11.4 seconds remaining that could have sealed the game for Miami. Instead it was another fourth-quarter flop for James and the Heat.

LeBron hit a big three-pointer late in regulation, but in the last seven-plus minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime, James scored a total of four points on Thursday night. That's not MVP-like, and that's not the first time it has happened.

You remember what an individual does when it matters, and quite frankly the fourth quarter has been a major problem for LeBron.

There was the loss to Golden State early in the season where James didn’t attempt a fourth-quarter field goal. We’ve seen him pass up a game-winning shot attempt in a loss to Utah, and we’ve seen James fail from the free-throw line routinely late in games.

There has been all of that and many other failures in between. You would expect an MVP candidate to have more than his share of success when all the chips are on the table, but James hasn’t done so regularly.

You can’t say the same for Durant, who has risen to the occasion more than once.

Miami has lost six of its past 11 games down the stretch, and while that’s not entirely all the fault of James, it doesn’t look real good when voting on the MVP.

At the end of the day, just as he has done on many occasions this season, expect LeBron to choke away the MVP award as well.