LeBron James: Will the Miami Heat Star Ever be Considered Clutch?

LeBron James is known as the best regular season player in the sport, but one who can't get the job done in the playoffs.

The Miami Heat star has won three out of the last four MVP awards, and led his team to a top two seed during each of those seasons. However, he's yet to win a title, even though he is the best the NBA has to offer.

Since James puts up big numbers and has no rings to show for it, the general consensus is that he's not clutch.

James has done all he can to shed that label in this year's playoffs. Whenever the Heat have needed to win a game, James has played his best.

Miami's first real test came in Game Four against the Pacers in the second round. The Heat were on the road and in danger of falling behind 3-1 in their series with Indiana. James stepped up with 40 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists, helping Miami tie up the series at 2-2.

In the following round against the Celtics, the Heat found themselves in another precarious situation. On the brink of elimination, Miami traveled to Boston for Game Six.

After losing three straight games to the Celtics, the Heat won the contest running away. James carried his team, scoring 45 points and grabbing 15 boards. He became just the second player in postseason history to put up such numbers. The MVP went 19-26 from the field in one of the greatest playoff performances of all time.

Thursday night was another similar situation. Miami had to win in Oklahoma City to avoid losing the first two games of the NBA Finals to the Thunder. The Heat led the entire game on the strength of James' 32 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

James even answered some of his critics by hitting a big shot late in the fourth quarter. The Heat forward made a tough bucket with 1:25 remaining in the game to put Miami up 96-91.

Much of the talk about James not being clutch comes from a few bad performances. He went just 3-14 in a critical Game Five against Boston in 2010. James also played poorly in the last three games of last year's Finals against the Mavericks.

Skeptics will likely point out the final shot James missed in Game Two. With Miami up 98-96 and a chance to put the game away, James missed a three-pointer in the final seconds.

The Thunder's Kevin Durant followed the miss with a brick of his own. Durant has been praised for being clutch and making shots at the end of games.

Does Durant's miss suddenly make him not clutch?

There is still a lot to be determined in this series. James has been very good in the first two games, but could just as easily fall apart en route to another Miami loss.

But after his performance in this year's playoffs, it's hard to criticize James for coming up small when his team needs him the most.