NBA Playoffs 2011: LeBron James, Miami Heat Are Chokers No More

I'm just going to go ahead and say it: The Miami Heat will be NBA champions in 2011.

As far as I'm concerned, the Heat won't be challenged like they were against the Boston Celtics the remainder of this postseason.

This is a team that no longer needs everything to fall into place in order to win a game of basketball.

Think about it.

The Heat wrapped up their Eastern Conference Semi-finals with a 97-87 Game 5 victory Wednesday night. Miami's most improved playoffs performer, new starting center Joel Anthony had little to no impact. LeBron James had one field goal in the first half. Bibby, Jones and Chalmers couldn't buy a shot, and Kevin Garnett started where he left off in Game 3.

Don't forget the Celtics shot 47 percent from the perimeter and 49 percent from the field.

Everything pointed to a Cs victory. Much like it had through the majority of Game 4.

Simply, the Miami Heat are playing phenomenal defense when it matters most. Boston was kept to under 15 points in the fourth quarter on both occasions.

Not only did James go some way to gaining redemption for his heavily hyped playoffs exit while a Cavalier, he did something many fans thought beyond him.

He closed out a game.

And boy, did he do it in style.

At the start of the postseason, there were three significant factors, which I believed would ultimately bring about the Heat's downfall. I sense they've all been addressed.

The first being that the league's biggest centers would bully the Heat inside the paint. The second that by taking an offensive threat (Bibby) off the floor in order to guard (Chalmers) the East's quickest point guards, the offensive would become too one-dimensional.

Finally, I wasn't sure the Heat knew how to close out games.

The first issue took care of itself. The Magic were pitiful and Dwight Howard is no longer around to cause coach Erik Spoelstra headaches. I figured even if they found a way past "Superman," Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol would simply be too much to handle over a seven-game series.

Let's not forget Rajon Rondo was badly injured as the series concluded. He simply wasn't an offensive threat and Doc Rivers entrusted Delonte West to close out the game. But the second issue is less about Rondo or Derrick Rose as it is about the Miami Heat. Neither Mike Bibby or Mario Chalmers are pressured to produce offensively.

The Big Three of Wade, James and Bosh had 81 of Miami's 97 in Game 5, and that went just fine.

Let's face it. The ball isn't going to be in Bibby's hands as the game goes down the stretch.

Finally, the Heat put their choker tag to bed.

Some folks say they did it with a breakthrough win at the TD Garden in Game 4. But I wasn't convinced. LeBron made two huge plays down the stretch, but he also made two poor offensive choices.

In Game 5, the execution was phenomenal.

In fact, James had the last 10 points of the game, perfect from the field.

Two epic triples on the stroke of an expiring shot-clock sent the South Beach crowd into frenzy. The second was particularly special. Paul Pierce couldn't have played James any better.

For good measure, James had the steal-and-slam on the next inbound and the game was beyond the Celtics.

LeBron may have come up short at various stages in the regular season. But when it mattered most, there was to be no dethroning of the King.

A lesser man may have shirked the responsibility.

A lesser team may have questioned their superstar.

The scary thing for the rest of the league is that it's only taken five and a half months for the Heat to get this damn good.