NBA Finals 2011: How Will LeBron James Respond in Game 5?

The minute Game 4 of the Heat vs. Mavericks matchup was over, everybody was asking how will LeBron James respond come Game 5.

The common answer had you believing he would break Wilt Chamberlain's record of 100 points in one game. Maybe 64 points and would break Michael Jordan's record for most points in a single playoff game. Most accuse him of wanting to be like Jordan anyway. What better way to silence critics than to top your idol?

Realistically neither one of those is going to happen. Too many points in this era for one player, especially when you're on a team with two other superstars. So the question remains, how will LeBron respond? 

The answer is simple, who cares? LeBron James will be LeBron James. How do I know? Because how many performances like Game 4 can you actually remember from him? You can count them on one hand. If you're missing a couple fingers, you could still do it. 

The thing with LeBron James is that everybody has been so spoiled, we have all taken him for granted. Everybody expects 30-plus points, seven assists and eight rebounds. The rare occasion he doesn't fulfill everybody's standards, he has fallen off, he quit on his team, he couldn't handle the pressure or whatever the new excuse of the day is.

LeBron James will put on a LeBron James performance and lead his team to victory, because at the end of the day that's all that matters. Who cares about how many points he scored? He only took 11 shots. Even if he made all 11 shots, that leaves him with 22 points, which still isn't good enough for the media. They expect even more.

Who cares if he had four turnovers, which was the same amount as Jason Kidd, who scored zero points and played 39 minutes, the same amount as Dwyane Wade, who scored a game-high 32.

James was accused of not shooting the ball enough. Jason Kidd only shot the ball three times, missed all three and again, was on the floor for 39 minutes. He must have quit on his team to prove a point or he can't handle the pressure.

In fact, this is the second-most minutes Kidd has played in a playoff game this season and the fewest points he has scored. Of course the expectations are different, but what's fair for one person is fair for everybody. Nobody is safe any longer.

Kidd had the fewest assists he's had this entire playoff season as well. A dazzling three, which means he had one more turnover than assist. Again, he played 39 minutes. 

James did finish with nine rebounds, of which only Dirk Nowitzki and Tyson Chandler had more, the two seven-footers on the court who the Heat couldn't box out if they were wearing stilts. He tied the entire Mavericks team (excluding Chandler) with three offensive rebounds. 

After a Game 3 performance, James was asked why he was "shrinking" in big moments. The reporter was referring to points scored in the fourth quarter. Is it just about points now? Rebounding, assists, blocks, steals, these things don't count in basketball anymore?

How about defense? James has kept Jason Terry in check the entire series. A guy who has scored 20 or more points seven times in the playoffs this year has yet to score more than 17 in this series. He is also shooting 31 percent from beyond the arc which is the lowest for any part of the season, including each playoff series the Mavericks have been in this year.

James, Wade and Bosh didn't come together to score lots of points. They came together to win championships, and lots of them. Who cares who fills up the stat sheet with the most impressive stats? Wade had a superb Game 4, scored lots of points, but the Heat lost, so what does it matter? If it was all about scoring, we'd be watching the Nuggets vs. Knicks in the NBA finals.

So, how will James respond in Game 5?

Maybe he'll have a triple-double. Maybe he'll fall just short of one, and finish with 20/8/9. Or maybe, just maybe, he has another game like he had in Game 4, but the Heat win. Are we still talking about James' poor performance? Would it really matter then?