LeBron Struggling Since Historic 61-Point Outburst
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Since Miami Heat superstar LeBron James scored a franchise-record 61 points in a game against the Charlotte Bobcats, the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player has looked mortal in games against the San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, and Houston Rockets.
Not surprisingly, the Heat lost all three games with James struggling from the field.
When James dropped 61 against Charlotte, he did it on just 33 shots, making 22 of them. The 67-percent shooting from the field was helped by an 80 percent shooting night from behind the three-point line and a 75 percent night from the free throw line.
Since then though, James has gone into a mini-funk. In the three losses, James is 23-59 from the field, 38.9 percent, and just 1-9 from behind the three-point line. James has also turned the ball over 10 times in the three games since his scoring outburst, including five against the Spurs last week.
It's not solely on James though as his team has not come to his aid while he tries to break out of his three-game slump. Chris Bosh has scored just 44 points in the three Heat losses and starting point guard Mario Chalmers has scored just 17 points.
Dwyane Wade has tried to pick up his game and has scored at least 23 points in six of the last seven games, but it's not been enough to offset the loss of James' prolific production. The Heat donk't need LeBron to score 61 every night, but the team has to have James shoot a higher percentage from the field.
Still, The Heat is just 1.5 games behind the Indiana Pacers for the best record in the Eastern Conference. The Heat has been helped by the Pacers going on a four-game losing streak while the Heat have lost the last three in a row.
While the Heat says that getting home court advantage in the playoffs doesn't matter, the potential seven-game matchup with the Pacers looms large and keeping four of those games in Miami would be a big bonus for the Heat.