As the Dallas Mavericks have managed to come out of top in two of the last three games – notwithstanding a last-second miss by Dirk Nowitzki that accounted for the one loss – there have been some very interesting developments in these NBA Finals.

We knew that the Mavs would rely heavily on Nowitzki if they were to stand a chance at becoming this year’s champions. And true to that assumption, Dirk has proven that Dallas would be incapable of winning any game without his fourth quarter heroics. Last night, the Diggler only scored 21 points, but 10 of them came in the game’s final nine minutes of regulation.

The home team had some welcomed contributions from Shawn Marion (7-12 FG, 16 points), Tyson Chandler (13 pts, 16 reb), Jason Terry (17 pts) and DeShawn Stevenson (3 3FGM). Adding them to the German’s point total doesn’t yield a high number, but it got the job done in a game that was a defensive dogfight (as has been the rest of the series to date).

Perhaps the most significant statistic revolves around the fourth quarter success of Rick Carlisle’s team. For a team that looks so scrappy and bound by its own limitations for three quarters, they seem to become the opposite during the stretch run of each game. The Mavericks have outscored the Heat in each of the past three contests, winning two games that Miami appeared to have on ice.

Everyone is looking for answers from James.

What’s going wrong for the Heat?

Apparently, Miami is not going to entertain the notion of running some innovative, creative offensive sets to close the game. With points being tough to come by, teams need ball and player movement to overcome intense defensive pressure. But we haven’t seen this from the Heat, and we shouldn’t expect to.

Miami’s defensive intensity has been consistent – for three quarters. It seems as if Dallas has been able to elevate its play to end the game, in a way that appears to be impervious to the Heat’s athletic defenders. Or maybe Carlisle actual designs a manner in which his players can overcome Miami’s defense. Imagine that.

Dwyane Wade is obviously pressing the make things happen. Don’t get me wrong, he’s been brilliant – and his effort last night has given him a slight cushion above Nowitzki as the leading scorer in the Finals. Wade has been bringing it offensively and defensively…all game long.

Chris Bosh has been, well, Chris Bosh. He doesn’t play with strength or toughness, but he has managed to be aggressive enough to be the third-leading scorer in the series…only trailing Wade and Nowitzki.

But hold up…isn’t there somebody missing?

Yes, there is. And he’s been missing for the last three games.

While D-Wade and Bosh have not shied away from their normal levels of offensive activity, LeBron James has. His reluctance to take over should worry the Heat, simply because they rely on the productivity of their Big Three to carry them. Bosh is a whole different story. By nature of his position and demeanor, there’s only so much that Bosh can do late in contests – thus leaving Wade and James with the burden of creating opportunities for themselves of others. But nobody is disappointed with Bosh’s effort. And the tremendous effort that Wade has put forth cannot be overstated.

So, in the midst of all of this…where’s the artist formerly known as King James?

He’s defending his penchant for not being aggressive when his team clearly needs him to.  Is he really bragging about his defense on the barely 6-foot tall Jason Terry and the partially-skilled Shawn Marion?

What LeBron doesn’t understand is that nobody is dictating that James be a selfish, arrogant black hole when he gets the rock.  One of the attributes that makes LeBron the player that he is is his ability to make players better.  He’s proven that he is one of the best at using his physical advantages to make other players on his team productive.

But he has to be aggressive to do that.  Using a cop out excuse like “D-Wade had it going” is just not going to cut it.  In the final quarter in each of the last three games, Wade clearly needed help and there’s no way that James was naive enough not to realize that. 

And as for his rant about being a two-way player – - at this stage of the season, everybody is a two-way player.  Or at least, everybody on the court is giving their maximum effort on both ends of the court.  Of course, some players have more ability than others in certain aspects of the game.  But, nevertheless, a player with weak defensive skills is going to try his best to cover them up, and vice versa.

It’s almost unbearable to watch.  A two-time MVP in the prime of his career is deferring to another player, albeit a great one.   But, he’s still deferring, and showing no signs of being ashamed about it. 

It’s a travesty.  It’s not how we wanted the ’Chosen One’ to win a title.  Or to lose a title, for that matter.

How ironic is it that Scottie Pippen made news with his remarks comparing James to the legendary Michael Jordan?  Just a week later, LeBron is turning us all into believers that his game is reminiscent of one of the Top 50 players of all-time.

It just so happens that it’s not the one that we thought it would be.

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