For a spell in Game 5, we saw the LeBron that we have come to know, commanding the ball and dictating the flow of the Miami offense. It took Dwyane Wade’s absence as a result of his collision with Brian Cardinal for that to occur. As soon as Wade returned to action, James took up residence on the baseline and was often absent for entire offensive sets.

In Game 6, James will seek to find his “niche,” as he said, in the fourth quarter. I’m not quite sure what that means on a grand scale. Five games should have been enough to find that gap, that hole, that source of inspiration.

Eric Spoelstra has spent the past 48 hours searching for the fourth quarter LeBron as well. If he can’t, there’s still the potential that he finds himself looking for work in the midst of a suspected lockout.

Nobody’s asking that LeBron scores 20. He just can’t be a bystander. He can’t take a backseat.

This series won’t define James’ legacy. But a loss digs him a pretty big hole and a lot of vitriolic rants in the blogosphere.

Get your binoculars out.

Sure, James posted a triple-double on Thursday night. He came out strong and facilitated things well with Wade sidelined because of a hip injury. However, James’ run of difficult fourth quarters was extended (he’s scored 11 points in the fourth quarters of this series). He missed several open looks late and watched as Jason Terry went nuts offensively. There’s no claiming a brilliant defensive effort following this game.

James Tweeted that “(Game 5) was now or never.” Checking out, vanishing, whatever you want to call it, his aggressiveness waned once again as the game wore on. The fact that the Heat had him on the court for 46 minutes certainly played a part. He’s logging some ridiculous minutes in this series. Still, fans and pundits want to see more of the attacking James, the dominant James. Wade’s return to the court put James back into a secondary role on the offensive end.

Again, there’s an interesting separation occurring. The traits and abilities that make James one of the most interesting and special athletes of this era are the traits that have fans and media up in arms. And that split, of course, is like giving gasoline to LeBron detractors. He’s been unselfish, trying to pick his spots, make plays for others and take advantage of mismatches on the court (like that which Wade has had for much of the action).

Unfortunately, this isn’t about absorbing a loss or two in an 82-game regular season. This is for the first of the “not five, not six, not seven …” Well, you remember the speech.

Does it mean that you force up 35 shots and try to single-handedly? No. But I would have banked on him seeing at the free throw line more than twice given that he spent such a large span handling the ball.

And remember this … you’re still looking at hotly-contested, last-minute games despite his lack of production in the fourth quarter. Some things can’t be measured in the box score, as we know well.

– You may want to see him lose because of “the decision” or you’re from Cleveland.

– Perhaps you admire his move to Miami and recognize that you’d have bailed to South Beach to go work with your friends as well. You just didn’t want to see him win immediately.

In the end, you just want to see the superstar go down gunning if he’s going to lose. You want LeBron to have the ball in his hands.

But just remember that some of the most memorable and significant moments of Michael Jordan’s career came when he embraced the role of facilitator. Other players need to hit shots, too.

If you blinked, you missed LeBron James in Game 4. Sure, he continued his work on the defensive end and contributed rebounds and assists. But, James failed to assert himself offensively and watched as Game 4 slipped away. James was held to a playoff-low eight points in this, his 91st career playoff game.

He converted 3-of-11 shots and showed zero aggressiveness on the offensive end of the court. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh combined for 56 points. Wade actually shot brilliantly from the field once again, posting a fantastic 13-for-20 night. Yet, despite his heroics, everyone’s going to be talking about the free throw that he missed. As he said, “The basketball gods didn’t want that to go down (I’m paraphrasing).”

Dirk Nowitzki played through a reported 102-degree fever to give the Mavericks 21 points and 11 rebounds. He made only 6-of-19 field goal attempts, but hit nine free throws. You can totally tell that he was ill — Dirk actually missed a free throw!

Jason Terry was challenged following Game 3 and responded well here. He scored 17 points, including clutch free throws and a layup in the final minutes. While Terry rose up offensively, it took Tyson Chandler’s emergence on the boards to break through. Miami dominated the early-going with offensive rebounds. Chandler eventually amassed 16 rebounds, including nine offensive boards of his own.

Add 16 points from Marion and 11 from DeShawn Stevenson off of the bench (he played 25 minutes) and the Mavericks doubled up the Heat’s bench (28 to 14).

The improved bench play and rebounding charge in the second half (the Mavs were out-rebounded by three overall) helped Dallas overcome the sizable fourth quarter deficit and 4-for-19 shooting from three-point range.

There are a ton of story angles working in this series, now tied at two.

Dirk will get past his sinus infection and fever to get ready for Game 5. Wade has played large all series.

The only story that matters is how LeBron James responds following his recent run of sub-par offensive efforts. This was supposed to be a King-making series, and the Heat’s Game 1 win appeared to put James on the path. Instead, he’s subjugated himself to be a facilitator and not an attacker.

It’s a tricky business, this being the all-around superhero.

– When you win, people praise your play-making, unselfishness and “feel” for the game.
– When you lose, you didn’t act as a leader and your “heart” and “fire” are questioned.

Where’s that balance?

Right now, the detractors are lining up to take their shots. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is likely penning another missive directed at Scottie Pippen or anyone else who elevated James to legend status before he was fitted for his first ring.

There are innumerable books about this post-”Decision” Heat squad waiting to be published. The final chapter will be penned in the next three games.

Inside The Swollen Dome, Episode 1

Why wasn’t LeBron commanding the ball and trying to take over the fourth quarter? Why did he defer to Wade? I don’t know that I’d have used the word “shrinking,” but I thought Doyel’s question was on point.

Check out the interaction below.

You can spew hate against “The Decision.” You may deride LeBron James for his exit from Cleveland or mock Chris Bosh.

I won’t begrudge you that. You’re entitled to your opinions.

But, I will ask a simple question. Wouldn’t you move from Cleveland to Miami, pocket a pile of cash and work with your buddies if you could? Whatever your line of work, that level of freedom, or some semblance thereof, is what most aspire to.

On Thursday night, the Heat took advantage of Chicago’s lack of consistency behind Derrick Rose and powered their way to a fourth straight win and a date with the Mavericks in the NBA Finals. James didn’t see the free throw line until the third quarter. He hit nine-of-11 overall and nailed two huge three-pointers as part of that 18-3 run to close out the series.

Dwyane Wade was downright pathetic for the first third quarters before the switch flipped. He dominated down the stretch, including a four-point play to cut the Chicago lead to three points. Wade finished with 21 points. Wade overcame an absurd turnover count of nine to finish it out.

Chris Bosh scored 20 points and 10 rebounds. He came into the series as the distant third on everyone’s radar, but demonstrated a strong inside-outside presence.

I opened this thing by saying that “The Big Three got it done.”

Look at the box score. There was no Mike Miller or Udonis Haslem stepping up to provide big minutes here. The trio of James, Wade and Bosh scored 69 of the team’s 83 points.

————–

The Bulls fade into the off-season, and you can already hear the chatter about prospective shooting guard additions and changes in the interior. Derrick Rose, the MVP, made only nine-of-29 shots and made a number of questionable decisions down the stretch. Steve Kerr banged the drum on the broadcast for Thibodeau to get him on the bench for a few minutes at the end of the third quarter to keep him fresh for the stretch run.

In the end, Rose had to try to carry the squad again. Luol Deng gave him 18 points of support, but the rest of the Bulls were virtual bystanders offensively.

The Bulls got solid minutes off of the bench Kurt Thomas. I championed his use earlier in the series for the pick-and-pop potential and willingness to bang down low. Thomas hit a pair of shots and logged eight rebounds.

Ronnie Brewer added 10 points and hit an unlikely three-pointer.

But, let’s call it what it is. Kyle Korver can’t D and can’t create his own shot. Keith Bogans is an infrequent contributor to the scoring log. Boozer occasionally pops off for a big offensive effort, but there’s no consistency whatsoever. Noah is a high-energy player who can D up and rebound, but he has little offensive game.

Just one hour following the end of the series, the comparison to the end of the Bears’ run to the NFC Championship Game is eerily similar. Both teams made fantastic charges deep into the playoffs, but both also had glaring flaws. Once we get out of the lockouts, it will be interesting to see how those issues are amended.

For now, we’ll sit back and watch “the man who would be king” take on Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks. Are you cheering for the villain yet?

Be it a television show, off-Broadway play or film, you could just envision the poster.

LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose received all of the hype and press. The Heat were set up as the villain in this battle against the league’s MVP. In fact, I lost count of the number of times that I heard the words “everyone who doesn’t live in Miami is cheering for the Bulls” uttered this week.

I don’t quite understand it. The same public that cheers for the bad guy at the movies, the “heel” in professional wrestling and the shirtless dude on “Cops” is actively rooting against the Heat.

And sure, James took center stage in Game 2, but the leader of the Heat’s high-profile trio has been the oft-dismissed Chris Bosh. Bosh was quiet at times during the regular season and his abilities, even his very manhood, have been questioned in the press.

Right now, Bosh is standing tall in the Eastern Conference Finals. He scored 34 points in Game 1 on 13-of-18 shooting (8-for-10 free throws) in the Heat’s crushing loss. Bosh scored 10 points with eight rebounds in the team’s Game 2 win in Chicago, and then rolled up a huge effort in the Game 3 win at home. He scored 30 points on 12-for-18 shooting with nine rebounds to give the Heat a 2-1 series lead.

At times, Game 3 evolved into a game of 1-on-1 between Bosh and Carlos Boozer. Remember, both were high-priced additions this off-season, and they’ll be inextricably linked forever. And, though Boozer posted a tremendous Game 3 stat line, Bosh was the more consistent and all-around better player in that contest.

James and Wade will continue to get their headlines. Others will focus on the lack of defensive cohesion and rotations by the Bulls and the lack of help for Derrick Rose. There’s enough ink to go around.

Just don’t forget to shoot some praise for Bosh’s play in this series … even if you limit it to 140 characters.

I understand that people are going to keep asking the questions. I recognize their need to get a soundbyte out there and lay the verbal smackdown on “the decision.”

In the past week, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and countless other NBA legends have lined up to make their sentiments known about the gathering in Miami.

It was a different era, where the players hardly dealt with one another, Magic & Isaiah’s embraces aside, and fought to beat one another senseless. It was also a different era, where the salary cap didn’t exist, free agency was reserved for secondary and tertiary players and where the money didn’t weight you down with an extra zero.

They’re the legends of the game, and while we certainly appreciate their thoughts on the matter, and I don’t know that we’ve been surprised by anything said. The video game titles of the era said it all — “Bird VS. Magic” — “Jordan VS. Bird.”

If anything, maybe it serves as a nice marketing piece to get the names back in the discussion (not that we don’t talk about Michael, Larry & Magic). Maybe it forces new NBA fans that wish to deify a LeBron James to do their homework and go back and watch the DVDs and classic games of the 80s and 90s teams. Maybe it forces them to take off the rose-colored glasses and recognize the history.

You have to give James and company this – we’re 10 days from training camps beginning in earnest, the trade deadline is approaching in MLB and orders for face paint have spiked on college campuses — and we’re talking about the NBA! David Stern can talk about how much he hates the way this was handled and so on, but every day that the NBA takes centerstage is a good day.

In “Highlander,” the mantra was that “there can be only one.”

Well, I guess that that “one” resides in Los Angeles and wears No. 24.

I have a new theory about what caused the powers to converge in Miami. I blame the “participation trophy” mentality.