NBA Playoffs 2012: LeBron James Must Erase Choker Label This Postseason

Last year, LeBron James shrank in the clutch in the NBA Finals, one of the main reasons the Miami Heat fell to the Dallas Mavericks.

This year, his failures in the clutch could prevent the Heat from even reaching the Finals.

James was again tentative down the stretch against the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night, deferring to teammates and missing two key free throws with under a minute left in a 78-75 loss.

It should be noted that Dwyane Wade was 1-of-5 down the stretch as well. But as always, the talk turned to James' failures with the game on the line.

It should also be noted that James didn't get a rest in the second half and probably won't get very much rest going forward. Head coach Erik Spolestra is going to ride James as much as possible, especially with Chris Bosh out with an injury.

And sure, he has to play some power forward, and sure, defending players like David West and Danny Granger is taxing. Plus, the Heat haven't gotten much from the bench and now look like a team totally reliant on James and Wade.

There is a heavy burden upon James now.

But he has to step up and accept the challenge. He has to be the best player on the court from the opening tip until the final whistle. He has to be willing, down the stretch, to bypass the pass that would be a smart basketball play earlier in the game and instead take over the offense.

Did Michael Jordan always make the smart play in the clutch? How about Kobe Bryant?

The answer is no, but they weren't afraid to seize the moment and they very often succeeded with the game on the line. When you're as talented as LeBron is, the selfish play very often is the smart play.

Listen, I don't want to kill him after one game. It's become so cliche to harp on James at every opportunity, even after a season that saw him earn his third MVP in four years.

But the Heat have a golden opportunity here—especially without the Chicago Bulls to contend with—and they need to take advantage of it.

James and Wade can't let it slip by. Sure, losing Bosh puts more of an onus on each of them, but even without him they still are talented enough to beat the Pacers.

But neither can afford to play down the stretch like they did on Tuesday night. It's time for James to shed the choker label.

A failure to do so and this team might not advance past the Pacers, let alone reach the Finals as they did a year ago.

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