NBA Playoffs 2012: Can LeBron James Find His Inner-Katniss Again for Game 7?

As LeBron James wrapped up one of the greatest performance in his career Thursday night by dropping 45 points, 15 rebounds and five assists against the Boston Celtics, he staved off elimination (at least for two more nights). Shortly thereafter the question already was flying on Twitter: Can he do it again?

Can LeBron single-handedly carry the Miami Heat again in Game 7, charging past Boston into the NBA Finals?

Some NBA analysts were quick to denounce such a train of thought. Henry Abbott of ESPN's TrueHoop called the "he should do that every game" crowd "ridiculous."

But it's not about the results. It's about the mentality.

James doesn't need to pull another 45-point, 15-rebound, five-assist night out of thin air to keep his critics silenced. No, he can't afford the 4-for-18 stinker that Boston's Paul Pierce managed in Game 6, but finding the happy medium would do, statistics-wise.

Instead, I'm left wondering: Where has this level of effort been every game? This level of focus? This intensity?

And, more importantly: Can James conjure it again?

If you watched any part of Game 6, you noticed it. The cold, expressionless look on James' face. How he remained largely devoid of emotion throughout the game as he surgically dissected the Celtics on both ends of the court.

"He was locked in from the beginning of the game like I've never seen him before," said James' teammate, Dwyane Wade, in the postgame press conference (from Boston.com).

"Y'all see that look he had on his face tonight?" said Heat guard Mario Chalmers to a group of reporters postgame, according to ESPN's Michael Wallace. “He had that look on his face since last night at dinner. We knew he was going to come out ready to play. That's why he's the MVP. I call it his ugly look."

As Wallace wrote, James had "the look" last night. It was the look of an absolute killer. The look of a man who refused to lose last night, no matter whether he was facing the 2012 Boston Celtics or the 1992 Dream Team.

In the words of Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski, James delivered an "f--- you" game for the ages on Thursday night.

Which again, begs the question: Why haven't we seen that look before? Where's that urgency and effort been ever since his time in Miami?

There's no denying that at his peak, like last night, that LeBron James is the most talented, unstoppable player in all of the NBA, particularly on the fast break. There's also no denying that James falls prone to some moments of head-scratching passiveness, as CBSsports.com's Ken Berger showed in a possession-by-possession breakdown of the fourth quarter of Game 5.

The Heat don't need James to score 45 points every night for them to win. But if they're going to beat Boston in Game 7 and have a chance in the NBA Finals against Oklahoma City, they can't afford James falling into bouts of passiveness at times.

James can't hover around the perimeter with his hands on his knees for entire possessions as he did in the fourth quarter of Game 5. Since I'm not Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, I can't say for certain if it's ever designed for him to play the role of $16 million decoy on certain possessions.

Regardless, the Heat need James back in full-throttle mode in Game 7. He doesn't need to drain every long jumper he attempts, but he needs to touch the ball at least once on most possessions. Otherwise the Heat run the risk of him falling into a passive spell at the time they can least afford it.

"You just try to keep the pedal down," James said to describe his mentality after Game 6, according to Berger.  "You just can't ... you can never let go."

Maybe it's no coincidence that LeBron's been engrossed in the Hunger Games trilogy for the past few weeks. He's been spotted by reporters reading all three books—he's on "Mockingjay," now—in the pre- and post-game locker rooms.

Last night, LeBron James unleashed his inner Katniss Everdeen and metaphorically killed everything and everyone that stood in his way.

The only question that remains: Can he find that inner-Katniss again?

Which LeBron James will we see in Game 7?