LeBron James, Dwyane Wade: It's Easy To See Who Miami's Best Player Is Right Now

LeBron James or Dwyane Wade?

Miami Heat fans love to avoid the question of who is the better player between their two superstars, but by now, the answer to that equation should be completely obvious.

Both James and Wade are great players and are without question two of the top five talents in the NBA today, but when it comes to who the better player really is, emotion and loyalty sometimes serve as a substitute for reality.

Wade's heart, passion and talent has captured the love of any Miami resident who roots for the home team, and while James was certainly a welcome addition the perception that Miami is Wade's town was still the dominant sentiment.

Well, Miami really is Wade's world and judging by his dominant play in the last three games of the 2011 NBA Finals, the Heat are his team.

But James can still claim the title as the Heat's most talented player, but as the postseason has revealed talent means little if you don't have the mentality, instinct and heart to back it up on the court.

This is not a shot at James, and if anything, his less-than-starry performances could be used as an example to illustrate the dilemma Dallas will face for the remainder of the series.

Many observers have said that Miami could survive a poor game from Wade or James and still win as long as at least one of them were on their game, but that theory didn't hold true in Miami's loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

In Game 2, Miami squandered a 15-point, fourth-quarter lead and lost 95-93 on a last-second Dirk Nowitzki bucket, despite a dynamic 36-point effort from Wade.

If the Heat's defeat from the clutches of victory was a warning alarm for the team, then I think it would be fair to say that Wade has responded a little better than James.

James' best game of the Finals thus far has been his 24-point, nine-rebound, five-assist performance in Miami's Game 1 win, but his 17-point performance in the Heat's Game 3 road win was quiet to say the least.

Wade has averaged 29.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and five assists while shooting 56 percent from the field during the Finals, and James has averaged 20.3 points per game, 6.7 rebounds, six assists while shooting 51 percent from the field during the same period.

Of course statistics are not everything, but Wade's superior numbers are not the only thing that has thrust him into the role of NBA Finals' MVP frontrunner if Miami should prevail.

Wade's focus, experience and ability to understand the significance of the moment, and respond to it, may have a little to do with the gap in the two superstar's performances as well.

James has somewhat fallen victim to his emotions in the past three games, and he may be placing more pressure on himself than is necessary.

Pleading with officials will not help James recover from his pedestrian-like Game 3 performance or his disappearing act in the fourth quarters of Games 4and 5, but playing with the same type of concentration that Wade has displayed might help.

The race for the NBA championship is far from over, but at this point, Dallas holds a 3-2 lead and James has a minimum of two games to prove that he is worthy of a Finals' MVP award that appears destined to land in Wade's lap for a second time if Miami can win the final two games of the series at home.

James may be the NBA's top athlete, and he is arguably the league's most talented player, but Wade has left little doubt as to who is Miami's top player right now.