As Game 7 Looms, Don't Blame LeBron

The blame game is the number one thing to do in the sports media after a loss. We're always searching for someone to pin the fault to and we need a scapegoat. If a team lost then it had to be somebody's fault right? Sure, but sometimes the other team was just flat out better. Don't look now, but the Indiana Pacers are one game away from sending the Miami Heat home in the Eastern Conference Finals. The winner-take-all Game 7 will tip off tonight in Miami and the pressure is all on the Heat. In the Big Three era they have set the bar high and failure comes with enormous backlash (think 2011 Finals loss). So if the Heat do lose tonight then who gets the blame? That's an easy question to answer.

If you think LeBron then you're dead wrong. LeBron James, for all the foolish looking flopping and technical fouls he's racked up in this series, is not to blame at all if the Heat lose. The MVP has done all that he can and has had to shoulder the load because the other two musketeers couldn't carry their own weight. James has averaged 28.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks in the first six games of the series. Oh by the way, he's also shot 51.6 percent from the field, 43.8 percent from three and 71 percent from the charity stripe. Those all look like MVP-numbers to me.

Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade deserve the blame for this series and the Heat won't win the Finals if they perform like this again. Wade has averaged 14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists through the first six games and, while those numbers aren't awful, they are fit for a player of Mario Chalmers' caliber. Wade has scored just 10 points in each of the last two games and he has yet to score 20 points in a game during this series. The expectations are high for Wade and that's why his performance the past two games is unacceptable. It's also why the Heat won't win this series. If Wade is bad again tonight then Paul George and Co. will be Finals-bound.

Wade's taken on the role of Robin to LeBron's Batman, but the sidekick has left his partner out in the cold when he needed him most. He is shooting just 6-19 (32 percent) in the last two games and he has looked uncomfortable on the court. He has deferred when he was open and he hasn't looked like a man who wanted to takeover a game and win it for his team.

In Bosh's case, we all knew this series would be a struggle for him due to Indiana's size. The Pacers are bigger and stronger and Bosh's rebounding numbers have taken a hit. However, no one expected the poor offensive performances that Bosh is putting out. How about a combined 19 points, 12 rebounds and two assists the past three games? His shooting percentage in those three games is so low that it wouldn't even be a decent batting average. He's been awful and it's come to the point that he had to apologize his teammates prior to tonight's game.

Bosh and Wade will be doing a lot of apologizing and perhaps packing their bags if the Heat lose tonight. They are the ones to blame for the Heat's performance. Now, if they win tonight, turn it around in the Finals and win, then all of this will be forgotten. However, if they lose then expect some serious criticism to come their way. Not LeBron though. He's put the team on his back and has done all he can. It's two bad the other All-Stars on roster haven't held up their end of the deal.