Nowitzki and James face critical opportunity by The Sports Network

Though in the past that claim may have held true, after convincingly disposing opponents in their respective conferences en route to the NBA Finals, it’s clear both men have exorcised their demons.

For Nowitzki it’s been a turbulent five seasons since he last was competing for the Larry O’Brien trophy. Beginning with his lone Finals appearance collapse there had been a long list of playoff failures – falling to the eighth-seeded Golden State Warriors in the first round in 2007, winning just one game against the New Orleans Hornets in round one the following year and being bounced early by the lower seeded San Antonio Spurs just a season ago.

It seemed the 32-year-old was cursed by his forgettable Finals performance and MVP season that followed, unable to shake detractors who said he wasn’t mentally tough enough to win when it mattered, too critical of his own teammates while never taking complete responsibility for his team’s struggles.

Facing such harsh criticism may have motivated the 10-time All-Star to take his game to another level.

Early in the season, flashes of Nowitzki’s playoff brilliance was apparent as the Mavericks jumped out to a 24-5 record to finish off December and his importance to the Mavs was never more evident than their forgettable 2-7 stretch following an injury to the Big German at the start of January.

These past six weeks have been the seven-footer’s rendition of a ballet recital – he’s pirouetted, executed a demi-plie and elevated to release what can only be described as jump shooting artistry – becoming arguably the toughest cover in the league in the process.

Funny how at the onset of the playoffs, many had Dallas as the Western Conference team most likely to face an upset in round one. Yet after convincingly dismissing the defending champs in the second round and outlasting the young Oklahoma City Thunder in the conference finals, its clear popular opinion was way off.

It’s strange James is looked upon in the same light as Nowitzki, considering his tremendous achievements in his brief career, yet for different reasons, LBJ – and his legacy – have been under the microscope for quite some time.

When a brazen 22-year-old carried his overmatched team to capture the Eastern Conference Championship in 2007, it seemed like the start of the King James era was upon us. Championship parades were to run along the Ohio River as the Cleveland Cavaliers were sure to return to the promise land and the young home grown megastar would be there leading a city – known for losing more than anything else – to glory

Yet, that never happened.

Instead, the Cavs were swept in the Finals and reached the conference finals just once more in the following three seasons, despite possessing the regular season MVP in back-to-back campaigns and the league’s best record.

For all the accolades and praise, James was left without a ring to solidify the claims that he was not only the best player in the game today but possibly one of the best to ever lace up a pair of high tops.

There were always issues with whether he passed too much at the end of games or relied too much on his outside jump shot. It seemed for all his otherworldly talents, James could never please the critics and maybe, most importantly, himself.

That feeling of inferiority may have been a large part to his departure to Miami this past off-season or maybe just knowing those surrounding him in Cleveland just weren’t going to get him over the hurdle.

The road to respectability hasn’t been a smooth ride. In fact, it’s probably been more demanding than James or his All-Star counterparts could have ever imagined.

Before the post-season, the well-documented late game woes of the Heat and the apparent struggle to establish who the closer would be – James or Dwyane Wade – seemed to add up for a disastrous playoff performance, where games are won in the final few minutes and an alpha dog needs to be established.

Any issues with who gets the ball down the stretch seem to have worked out, however, as James has been the go-to-guy in nearly all of Miami’s close games and has delivered more often than not. His recent late-game heroics have led those with a vast knowledge on the subject to draw comparisons to his boyhood idol – Michael Jordan – reassuring his position as one of the game’s best player.

With lofty expectations heading into the season, the Heat have played under such scrutiny all year long, the extra attention of the playoffs hasn’t seemed to fluster them at all. Having lost just a single game in each of its series coming into the Finals, Miami has amassed a 12-3 record and boast a perfect record at the American Airlines Arena, going 8-0.

As both men have fought through adversity over the past years to return to the pinnacle of the sport, they have grown stronger, with their failures acting as a righto of passage to be considered amongst the game’s elite.

This post-season should ward off the past criticisms for both perennial All- Stars and a new chapter in their arc established through their memorable performances submitted so far.

In the end, a winner will emerge with one future Hall-of-Famer cementing his place amongst the immortals with an NBA title to validate his greatness – while the other will only have the critics to answer to.

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