LeBron James: Mr. Anti-Clutch

(With the NBA playoffs impending, this writer thought it might be good to scribe an article of expectation.)

Despite his possession of all-world athletic ability, and for all of his garnering of MVP trophies, LeBron James has not proven that he is a big-time basketball player.

His record of playoff victories against early-round inferior opponents does not a reputation make.

In fact, James has proven to be a kind of “nervous Nellie” in the biggest games of his career to date, even when his team has been favored, as in the 2009-2010 NBA season.

What time has shown up—in his professional life—is that LeBron James is a great athlete, not a great clutch basketball player. In the NBA, what is greatness? The ability to succeed—or at least exude unquestioned excellence—under the most pressurized circumstances.

Every acknowledged great basketball player, from Bill Russell to Larry Bird to Michael Jordan, has shown such an ability.

Part of James' playoff failures can be attributed to shortcomings in his basketball repertoire: an inferior “short game” (from the foul line in), no “post-up game” to speak of and the inability to move without the basketball too well.

Add to this that he is not the game's greatest three-point shooter, and problems arise when defenses tighten in the playoffs. James' famous crashes and dashes to the rim are cuffed during the NBA's second season.

Throughout his basketball life, LeBron James has been used to overwhelming opponents with pure athleticism. This habit still works during the regular season.

It is doomed during the season's climax, the NBA playoffs.

In fairness, a player like Michael Jordan had Dean Smith; LeBron James has not had such extended tutelage. However, one would think he would have figured out a little more by himself by now.

Basketball aficionados are aware of LeBron's past playoff implosions, such as 2008-2009 against the Orlando Magic, and 2009-2010 against the Boston Celtics (conference semi-finals).

But here are the proofs from the 2010-2011 season, which is still in progress.

January 18 (from the Atlanta Journal Constitution): Hawks guard Joe Johnson's driving score near the end of regulation forced overtime. In overtime, Josh Smith's basket and defense on a LeBron James three-point try and two free throws by Johnson sealed the victory.

February 13 (from the Boston Globe): James had scored at least 30 points in his previous six regular-season meetings with the Celtics, but yesterday he found no daylight. In the second half, Rondo (11 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) defended James, pressuring him to the point that he hesitated to put the ball on the floor.

James finished with 22 points, getting seven in the fourth quarter. Trying to tie the game at 83, James drove the lane hard, giving Pierce no choice but to foul him and put him on the free throw line with 12.5 seconds left.

“LeBron is so powerful,’’ Rivers said. “That was just a grown man making a move.’’ But James back-rimmed the first free throw before making the second attempt, leaving his team down one.

February 27 (from the New York Times): James had contorted past Anthony when Amare Stoudemire swooped in from the weak side, leapt and blocked James’s shot, which could have given Miami the lead with seven seconds left. Stoudemire’s effort paved the way for the Knicks’ 91-86 victory against Miami.

March 3 (from the Associated Press): Wade was 0-for-4 in the fourth, James 0-for-2. Miami was down 97-96 with 9.6 seconds left. J.J. Redick pushed the lead to three with a pair of free throws, before Bosh and James missed three-point attempts in the final seconds.

"Got a good look," James said. "Just didn't go in."

March 6 (from the Miami Herald): As it is, James took the blame for this latest loss. Because even after those Deng free throws, the Heat had 16 seconds to gather itself. And the ball was in James’ hands.

He wound up defended by the 6'11" Noah, a player bigger and presumably slower than James. He found himself near the rim, attempting a left-handed layup over the outstretched Noah. It clanged off, and Wade eventually recovered for one more final, desperate shot that also missed.

But it was James’ miss that will be identified as the failed opportunity. Not only because it was the intended shot, but because James has now missed shots in four of the Heat’s last five losses that could’ve either tied the game or put his team ahead.

Hence, the post-game apology and ensuing promise:

“Like I told my team, I’m not going to continue to fail them late in games,” James said. “I put a lot of blame on myself [today], telling the guys that I just keep failing them late in the games, and I won’t continue to do that.”

To the contrary, history has proven that LeBron James will continue to do that. It's going to require much mental change on James' part to undo his historical trajectory.