LeBron James: Can He Recover His Image with a Dominant Postseason?

Nobody wants to be regarded as a quitter or a traitor in any shape or form. In the case of LeBron James, he has been called those two names and just about every other synonym relating to those two traits since his off season departure from Cleveland.

His two trips to Cleveland were exactly what any NBA fan could have expected from the Quicken Loans crowd, but did anyone expect James to be jeered at by fans in every other stadium?

Reasons for James being jeered at by opposing crowds include teams that James snubbed in favor of the Miami Heat, fan bases that just never really took a shine to him or people that just wanted to join in on the fun and boo James just for the sake of it.

For 41 road games, James has been at the center of attention and the subject to verbal and personal abuse from fans who knew nothing of his life and the reasons why he wanted to leave Cleveland in favor of Miami.

For some people, it's time to face facts: Miami was believed to be the most ideal situation for LeBron James.

After an impressive regular season and a dismal postseason, the Cavaliers didn't make too much of an attempt to secure a big name free agent. Word is that they had the chance to trade for Amar'e Stoudemire in the middle of last season, but declined, and also asked Chris Bosh to sign with them over the offseason but were turned down.

James' other potential suitors? The New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets and Chicago Bulls. All had plenty to offer with Amar'e Stoudemire in New York, money to spend in New Jersey and Derrick Rose and a myriad of other talent in Chicago, but when it came down to it, no team had more to offer than the Miami Heat.

With a known leader in Pat Riley in the front office and Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the floor, it was an offer that James simply couldn't refuse.

Since "The Decision" to take his talents to South Beach, James has been paying for it by the causal NBA fan.

He hasn't really paid for it too much success wise, as his Heat team currently stands at 58-24 and with a number two seed.

While some consider it disappointing due to the over-hyped preseason predictions, this was a complete success if you consider just how far this team has come.

Overcoming injuries and severe chemistry issues at the start of the season, the Heat have been one of the NBA's best teams since the second month of the season and have gone 49-16 since their 9-8 start.

As for LeBron James? He's played just fine this year. Averaging 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists per game, James has earned MVP consideration once again and has posted up some of the most significant stats of the season, with his season high of 51 points against the Orlando Magic being the high for an individual scoring performance this year in the league.

LeBron appears to thrive off of the jeers he hears from the crowd as well considering that his best performances have come on the road and his Miami team possessed the best road record in the Eastern Conference at 28-13.

James certainly has done enough in the regular season to prove his doubters and critics wrong as he, Wade and Bosh show that this experiment can work out.

The postseason however is what we've all been waiting for.

The next month's worth of basketball will prove just how viable and successful this experiment has worked out. The playoffs haven't always been the kindest leg of the season to LeBron, since he has only advanced to one Finals in his career and failed to even win a game. His past few years at the top haven't proved anything either.

He led the Cleveland Cavaliers to back-to-back seasons of 60 plus wins. The first year he led the team to 61 wins only to see the team lose in the Conference Finals in six games to the Orlando Magic and then saw his team lose in the semifinals to the Boston Celtics the following year after wining 66 games.

James was stellar in both series, but was criticized for his lack of effort in the final two games of last seasons postseason, despite recording a triple-double in the deciding game six.

It's been for reasons like this that James has the subject of ridicule. His individual achievements such as winning back-to-back MVP's are a nice touch to an already impressive resume, but it doesn't mean anything without a championship.

To be honest though, it becomes extremely difficult when the supporting cast you relied on all year decides to lay an egg at the next level. Key teammates like Mo Williams suddenly became useless when the game was on the line.

James knew he would never win a title with Cleveland. Not when Mo Williams was set to be his sidekick for another season or when the Cavaliers organization wasn't bringing in any impact players to help LeBron advance to the NBA finals.

With Wade and Bosh in Miami, the ideal situation for James to finally secure a title was on the sunny shores of South Beach where he was surrounded by proven talent and didn't have to carry the team.

After a tumultuous and unsteady regular season, it's time for James to prove to the NBA world and to himself that he is capable of winning an NBA title. He also needs to prove that he can play a key part in helping the Miami Heat win a title.

Lately, it has been Dwyane Wade who has been picking up the pieces and putting the team on his back when the game is on the line. James has had to take a seat to Wade in clutch moments.

The postseason is LeBron's time to shine. If he wants to prove anything to his doubters, critics and most importantly to himself, he'll go out and dominate and win Miami a title.

Anyone with as large an ego as LeBron's cannot play any longer without being able to silence those who only want him to fail.

With Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago as his probable opponents in the Eastern Conference postseason, James will be needed if the Heat want to advance to the NBA finals for the second time in franchise history.

So far this season, James has had an up and down three games against Philadelphia. He struggled in the first two meetings to find an offensive rhythm, but was able to score 32 points in the final meeting.

He has played consistently well against Boston in the two out of four meetings and has played well also against Chicago in the teams three meetings.

For James and the rest of this Heat team, they'll need to give all their effort if they want to skate by the improved teams of this conference.

Most importantly, LeBron is going to have to play a large part. Even if he wins a title, he can still be ridiculed as Dwyane Wade's sidekick or something absurd along those lines. With motivation, momentum and ambition by his side, there is little that can stop James from achieving his goal now. He has been waiting for this moment since his latest postseason exit and is ready to prove himself with his new team.

James wants to win that title more than anyone else in the postseason right now and he finally has the tools to help him secure it.