NBA Finals 2011: Why We No Longer Have to Hate LeBron James and the Miami Heat

The NBA Finals just wrapped up, and Dirk Nowitzki led the Dallas Mavericks to a six-game victory over LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat.

For Dallas, winning this series has many implications. For starters, it puts Dirk, along with Jason Kidd, in the discussion of the all-time greats. Furthermore, it allows Jason Terry to keep his tattoo.

But let's be honest; the aftermath of this series will focus just as much, if not more, on the Miami Heat's failure than Dallas's success. And even more specifically, the media will focus on LeBron James.

I don't know about you, but the NBA Finals this year reaffirmed a belief that I have held ever since I saw LeBron come up short time and time again as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers: There is no need to hate LeBron.

But it's so damn easy to hate him. The man left his hometown for a big city. He left a team of unsung role players to join up with two, er, one and a half superstars. The media and a large portion of the NBA fanbase, perhaps even a plurality, crowned the Heat as favorites to win the NBA Championship before LeBron ever played a game in a Miami uniform.

Naturally, LeBron seemed to be the NBA's next great villain.

But if you think about it, Cavs fans got mad at LeBron because they thought he was special. They thought that he could bring a title to the title-starved city of Cleveland. Well, they were wrong.

Now more than ever, it is clear that LeBron is almost incapable of winning a title. I mean, did you see how badly Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Tyson Chandler and J.J. Barea wanted to win?

And I will ask you if at any point in this series did it looked like LeBron realized the gravity of the situation and truly played like he wanted to win down the stretch? Simple answer: No.

Somebody should tell Dan Gilbert to send out a letter to Cleveland residents again this summer, restating confidently that the Cavaliers will win a title before LeBron does. He has all the skills needed to succeed in basketball, but he doesn't have the will to win.

LeBron lacks a killer instinct, can't finish teams, goes away from what he does best at the end of games and has not shown any sense of urgency thus far in his NBA career.

So am I writing LeBron off and saying that he'll never win an NBA Championship? Not quite.

But as for the Michael Jordan comparisons, let's take it easy. When guys like J.J. Barea and DeShawn Stevenson want to win more than LeBron does, it's safe to say that Miami's superstar will come nowhere close to MJ.

After all, who has more rings: LeBron James or Brian Scalabrine?