James didn't perform exceptionally well offensively in either games four or five but his versatility is still helping Miami. The problems for the team can be found elsewhere.
Lebron James is the most talented player in the 2011 NBA Finals and as such there is a lot of scrutiny on the Miami Heat star.
When he only scored eight points in game four of the series against the Dallas Mavericks it was natural that the media and the fans would start criticizing him.
However criticisms in sports can often be knee-jerk reactions that don't look too closely and what the criticisms of James ignore are the other contributions that he has made to the Miami Heat.
Game four was definitely an off-game and clearly below average as it's weird to see James not hit double-digits for points. However he did lead his team in two other important categories, assists and rebounds. While his lack of offensive production definitely hurt if you understand the game you understand that he was still a crucial performer for his team because of those boards and assists.
In game five James showed his versatility again as not only did he score 17 but he had 10 boards and 10 assists for the triple double, both of which were team-highs. That hasn't won him a lot of praise, even though it was the first triple-double in the NBA Finals since the 2002 series (Jason Kidd).
Whenever a team that is expected to win struggles, fingers get pointed and the most obvious person to blame is the star. However the glaring weakness on the Heat is not James at all but the lack of production from role players.
For example Joel Anthony, the Heat's starting center, had 0 rebounds, 0 assists, and just 2 points in game five. Mike Bibby hardly did anything starting in game four as he had just two boards, one assist in the point guard position, and zero points.
Neither Anthony nor Bibby logged big minutes in their outings but had they been average in the minutes they did play then Miami might have won game four and been closer to winning in game five.
The key to game six (ABC; Sunday night 8pm ET) is for James and the rest of the Miami contributors to keep performing while getting SOMETHING out of the other starters as basketball is a team game where everyone logging minutes has to contribute. There is no reason why Anthony can't grab five rebounds at 6'9" and there's no reason why Bibby can't get nine points and a five assists with his obvious skills.
Zero rebounds from Anthony in the center position, one assist from Bibby as a point guard, and zero points from a starting guard simply won't cut it against a coordinated team effort from this year's Dallas Mavericks.
