LeBron doesn't want to be what we want him to be

Charles Barkley's comments about LeBron James were interesting, but we've heard them before. He said it's not LeBron's personality to be "a killer" like Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan.

I don't know what's going on inside LeBron's head nor will I pretend to make logical guesses as to what's going upstairs underneath that black headband. All I know is he has a whole hosts of physical talents that aren't being used the way he should be using them.

When LeBron dunks people in the lost city of Atlantis feel it. He's powerful and I know my jaw drops every time I see him jam it home. Why isn't this happening more often in the NBA Finals? Are the Mavericks really playing such stifling defense that the King himself can't penetrate to the hoop? D-Wade is getting there, so why not LeBron?

The Heat's game plan in Game 3 was awesome at the start of the game mainly because Mario Chalmers was hitting shots. Lebron and Wade were taking the ball to the basket, and it eventually left Chalmers wide open for 3-point shots. This game plan was effective, but it seemed to be abandoned. If the Heat go back to this game plan then I can see LeBron going back to being the King we wanted him to be.

Barkley said it isn't LeBron's personality to be "the killer." Well if that was the case then we wouldn't have seen "The Decision" take place on ESPN. You want the publicity, LeBron, but you shrink during the moment that counts? Again, I have no idea what's going on inside his head, but something is not adding up.

I wanted the Heat experiment to fail. I hated them when LeBron joined forces with Wade and Bosh. But I'm intrigued to see what happens. If the Heat win the NBA Finals this year then the experiment will have worked, and you'll see other teams perform the same kind of unions, assuming the inevitable lockout doesn't ruin the current model.

But in order for the Heat experiment to succeed then LeBron needs to stop being an introverted eighth grader. It's time for him to be the guy. I'm not a fan of the team, but the NBA is better right now than it's been in MY lifetime. People in '80s will say their era was the best, but I wasn't born until 1987, so today's NBA is the best it's been in my lifetime. Today's NBA needs the Heat to win the title--RIGHT NOW.

Only LeBron knows what he really wants, but actions speak louder than words. He clearly wanted a championship so bad he was willing to let the state of Ohio turn against him. Now, he needs to prove that he wanted that championship. Wade and Bosh need him in order to win two of the next three games.