Game 6: More than just a game for LeBron

This isn't just any regular game 6. Of course whenever a team is facing elimination on the road in the playoffs, the stakes are a bit higher, but tonights game 6 between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics is more than just an elimination game. Tonights game 6 is the biggest game of LeBron James young career.

Yes, you heard me. Bigger than all four of the NBA finals games he has played in. Bigger than game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals, when James scored the Cavaliers final 25 points in a double overtime victory that gave the Cavaliers the 3-2 series lead over the highly favored Detroit Pistons.

No, game 6 tonight will not define LeBron James' legacy. Nor should the abismal performance LeBron and the Cavaliers put on during game 5. After all, LeBron is only 25 years old. He is still young. His best years are still ahead of him. But while LeBrons legacy won't be defined by game 6 tonight, or even this series, we did learn a great deal about LeBron in game 5 of the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals, and we will learn even more about LeBron tonight in game 6.

We will learn how LeBron responds to adversity. We will learn how LeBron responds to the media and the public, after some media sources tore LeBron apart for his game 5 performance. We will learn whether LeBron is not simply a guy who wants to win, but rather someone who needs to win.

Although he is only 25 years old, LeBron has accomplished almost every task there is to accomplish as a professional basketball player. He has won a regular season scoring title. He has made numerous all star game appearances. He has led the Cleveland Cavalier to an NBA Finals appearance. The one thing he hasn't done though, is win an NBA title.

In 2007, LeBron single handedly led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, where the Spurs swept the Cavaliers in four games. In 2008, the Cavaliers lost to the eventual champion Boston Celtics in seven games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. In 2009, LeBron James won his first regular season MVP award and led the Cavs to a league leading 66 regular season wins. The Cavaliers were a favorite among many to win the NBA Finals and finally get LeBron his first title. However, the Cavs lost to the Orlando Magic in six games in the Eastern Conference Finals.

This past season, LeBron led the Cavaliers to 61 regular season wins, which again led the league. The off-season addition of C Shaquille O'Neal provided an experience presence in the paint. The mid-season acquisition of former two time all star PF Antawn Jamison made the Cavaliers look almost invincible. Not to mention the Cavs already have PG Mo Williams, a former all star in his own respect. C Zydrunas Ilgauskas is a capable scorer as well for the Cavs.

My point? There are no excuses for the Cavaliers or LeBron James this season. None. Zero. Nada.

No longer can Cavs fans claim that LeBron James has no supporting cast. LeBrons supporting cast may not be as talented as Kobe Bryants supporting cast on the Lakers, as the two are often compared, but the Cleveland Cavaliers have absolutely no excuses for losing in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. If a team leads the league in regular season wins in back to back seasons, and doesn't make an NBA finals appearance, there are no excuses. LeBrons elbow is not a valid excuse either. At this point in the season, everyone is banged up, and one injury is no excuse to lose by 32 points at home in a pivotal game 5.

My point is that tonights game 6 between the Cavaliers and Celtics in Boston is not just your average game 6. We learned, as fans, in game 5 that LeBron has another side to him that we have not seen before game 5. LeBron appeared unmotivated and complacent in game 5. He didn't seem like he had that dire need to win, as the truly great players do. LeBron let his attitude get the best of him, and when the Cavs were down and LeBron was struggling, he didn't rally the troops and put his foot down and say "Enough is enough. This is our house, and we're gonna win this game." Instead, he let the game pass him by and it left a permanent image in the minds of NBA fans forever.

I understand that LeBron James is only 25 years old. I understand that he is still learning. But as the leader of a team, and even an entire city, LeBron has to at least show he wants to compete. I didn't see that out of him in game 5. Which leads into my reasoning of why tonights game 6 is the biggest game of Mr. James' career.

Its the one question that everyone watching tonight will want answered: How will LeBron respond?

Will LeBron come out with a fire that we haven't seen before? Or will he simply crumble like he did in game 5 and once again simply just go through the motions rather than playing his game?

We have all seen LeBron when he wants to win. What I'm looking for tonight out of him is the need to win. As the face of the NBA for the next ten years (at least), LeBron needs to prove to the world what type of player he is.

Rarely has LeBron ever had to prove himself. Rarely has LeBron been torn apart like he was following game 5. But now is a time like no other for LeBron James. Tonights game 6 is all on LeBron. Whether the Cavaliers win or lose, the world will know much more about LeBron James than we do now. What is he really made of? Only time will tell.

Although in Boston, tonights game 6 between the Cavs and the Celtics is LeBrons stage, and its time for him to show the world who LeBron James really is.