NBA Playoffs 2011: Why LeBron James Will Look to Make a Statement in Game 2

You would think that after LeBron slayed his biggest demon, that coming in the form of defeating the Boston Celtics, that LeBron would finally receive praise from the general public.

Oh how wrong you were.

Coming off the defeat against the Chicago Bulls in Game 1, LeBron and the Heat were met with chants of "overrated" during the final few possessions.

Something I'm sure, LeBron will keep a mental note of.

For when was the last time that one NBA player was on the receiving end of so much wide spread criticism and hate?

Seemingly NBA fans across the world hate LeBron for different reasons.

Most because, well, he's simply one of the best players in the game right now, if not the best. That and, well, the Decision. That didn't really blow over well with a lot of people.

Other fanbases (e.g. Chicago) hate him simply because he didn't sign with their team. Make no mistake about it, if LeBron were in a Bulls uniform right now, he would be heralded as the second coming of Michael Jordan.

And now, due to just one loss in the Eastern Conference Finals, people are already doubting the Heat, and the blame is falling largely on the shoulders of LeBron James.

Words like "choking" and "overrated" are terms that LeBron has become all too familiar with over the course of his NBA career.

When, looking at statistics, LeBron has been far from that.

He ranks third amongst current players (behind Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal) for most career 40-point playoff performances.

He led a team of scrubs (no offence) to the NBA Finals in 2007.

He has had numerous memorable playoff moments, too many to simply write down in one article.

Yet the media, and people in general, seem to only remember times where he has had an off game. They choose to ignore the fact that the positives far outweigh the negatives.

These positives are reinforced by the fact that over the course of his NBA career, he has had to win games almost single-handedly.

Now in Miami, LeBron finally has the talent necessary to put up a fair fight. And that is exactly what they did against the Boston Celtics.

And it was LeBron, who closed them out.

That was a week ago, and already, after that amazing 10-point outburst over the final stages of Game 5, people are back on the "LeBron is a choker" bandwagon.

It seems as though defeating the Celtics was only the beginning.

That will not impress the doubters and the haters.

LeBron will need to yet again overcome another obstacle to finally earn the respect of NBA fans.

This obstacle comes in the form of the Chicago Bulls.

I'll be the first to admit, LeBron had an off night. So did Dwyane Wade. So did every Miami Heat player not named Chris Bosh.

The chances of this happening again? Very slim.

Look for LeBron to be attacking from the opening tip come Wednesday night. Look for a determined LeBron.

In the previous series against the Celtics, LeBron had a sub-par Game 3, scoring 15 points on the road against Boston. The next game? 35 points and 14 rebounds.

Why is this so? LeBron reacts to the negativity.

In fact, it seems as though he relishes it. It drives him, gives him motivation.

He will come out in Game 2 and try to silence all of his critics.