Much has been made about LeBron James being not as great a player as he has been in previous years. That type of thinking might be a bit too hyperbolic for my taste — I think it has as much to do with the players around him as it does with his actual abilities. Nevertheless, what is his left in his basketball playing prime tank might be the wrong topic anyway.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are going to enter the NBA Finals with a vastly different roster than the one they were hoping for entering the season. Yes, injuries happen to nearly every team in the league, and excuses can sometimes feel like opinions, but instead of criticizing James’ efficiency numbers, maybe we should praise him for getting a team without Kevin Love — and with a banged-up Kyrie Irving — to the NBA’s final playoff round.
That said, how James has been playing isn’t beyond reproach.
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The current version of the Cavaliers isn’t easy to assess. Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith and Timofey Mozgov weren’t considered world-beaters when they played for teams not called the Cavaliers. Then again, none of them were nearly as wretched as we pigeonholed them to be, but their general “success” with Cleveland has as much to do with them as it does playing alongside LeBron James.
That’s a credit to those players AND James (and maybe even David Blatt?).
However, those players are lesser versions of talents compared to what James had with Miami. Playing without as talented a group around him has resulted in “The King” being less efficient — which has somehow resulted in many being “shocked” over his efficiency numbers. I’m not entirely sure why everyone is acting as such.
This isn’t about James being a shell of his former self. It is about carrying far more of a workload than he has had to in recent seasons. Basically, LeBron James hasn’t had to do this kind of heavy lifting since his first run with the Cavs.
All of that is to say: I’m not buying into LeBron James being a worse player than he has been throughout his career. What I am willing to say, though, is that James needs to revert to an older style play instead of this weird, playoff isolation and jump shot-heavy version of himself we have seen in every part of these playoffs. The latter style has not helped his efficiency.
An excuse can be made for James, too: Without much help around him, he is forced to play such a style… much like those Allen Iverson-led Sixers teams.
Let’s tackle that point: Cleveland’s roster isn’t as abominable as The Answer playing with my uncle from up the road. Simply because it isn’t as good as the one originally imagined doesn’t mean players should abandon their most natural style of play — and LeBron James’ most natural style of play isn’t going all Iso Joe Johnson on opponents.
We’re not talking about iso-James when he is in the post or driving aggressively to the rim with 10 or more seconds left on the shot clock. Rather, it is the variation of James dribbling the ball at the top of the key, often 30 feet from the bucket, until a handful of seconds are left on the shot clock, which results in James either forcing up a contested jumper or passing to a teammate who is put in a position to fail.
Oddly enough, players like J.R. Smith are equipped to deal with such a style. As an example, Smith doesn’t mind hurling 25-foot bombs with three seconds left on the shot clock. In fact, he might excel doing so. Yet, that doesn’t mean this style is okay when used by LeBron. Most of the roster, with Smith being the exception, isn’t furnished with enough abilities to operate in such a short vacuum of offensive opportunities.
All this doesn’t even mention that James’ mid-range and beyond game hasn’t been all that solid this postseason. Really, it has been that way all season. While LeBron may have improved his shooting abilities during his career, this year has been a bit different for him.
During the regular season, James shot only 35.5 percent on all his jumpers. Moreover, his effective field goal percentage from 16-24 feet was an underwhelming 37.7 percent. At the same time, though, James was still incredibly effective when he was attacking the rim — his eFG% from within 8 feet was 65.7 (over 72 percent on driving layups).
Therefore, an aggressive LeBron James is still a truly efficient player. His brand of rim-attacking enables him to spread the floor, leaving his teammates open around the arc, putting them in better positions to score easier buckets.
I do get it, though. People have begged for an aggresive version of LeBron James since he got into the league. Experts trivialized his abilities because he would pass up big shots at the end the games, be too unselfish, and not take nearly enough stock in the idea of helping his teammates by carrying them with his scoring ability. Still, please don’t confuse ball-in-hand, heavy-isolation basketball with James being aggressive. That’s not what it is. It is inefficient basketball — even for the best player in the NBA.
Many of the isolation attempts have resulted in James putting himself in the worst possible situation to excel. The problems with iso-ball haven’t been limited to his teammates being put in areas of distress. The aforementioned stats, combined with the reality that James shooting far too many fadeaway jumpers (which he shoots at a measly .38 percent clip), show that isolation sets are doing the Cavaliers no favors.
There is a solution for James’ style of play, though, one which spits in the face of people begging for him to be more of a hands-on, Michael Jordan-style player. He should revert to his older style of play, the one that resulted in everyone criticizing him in the first pace.
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When James, at the offensive end of the floor, was more similar to Magic Johnson than a slew of volume shooters who have played in the league, he manifested a specific identity: pass-first LeBron James.
This, obviously, comes with great risk. He is no longer playing with Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, or shooters as competent as Ray Allen. He is playing with, supposedly, other people’s trash; discarded assets of the Knicks; undrafted free agents like Matthew Dellavedova, who barely makes enough shots to matter on offense; and a handful of other offensively impaired players whose limitations were originally supposed to be offset by James, a healthy Irving, and Kevin Love with all his arms attached — and playing.
Irving is continuing to play, though. He isn’t unavailable. It is not as though James has literally zero offensive help. Moreover, a player like Smith can heat up to volcanic levels. Guys like Shumpert, Delly, and Tristan Thompson round out their roles on that side of the court far better than given credit for.
Is the roster perfect? Of course not. This Cavs team has serious flaws and will inevitably need the very best version of LeBron James in the Finals if it wants a chance at capturing Cleveland’s first pro sports title since… I don’t know when because I’m not a million years old.
Nevertheless, the “best” version of James isn’t the one we have witnessed during these playoffs, and it has nothing to do with wherever we have deemed his abilities to fall on the fictitious LeBron James prime abilities meter. Sure, the numbers say he isn’t as effective as he was during his years with the Heat, which could easily be explained away by the players he is playing with, but this could very well have nothing to do with that — as it could more simply be that he is trying too hard, by implementing a style of offense which is unnatural to him given his skill set, that has resulted in him looking like a shell of himself.
James, as hard as it is going to be, needs to trust his teammates more in the NBA Finals and revert to his unselfish style of play. This is something he was unwilling to do in spurts during his first time with Cleveland, and it’s an aspect of his game which was mocked by Skip Bayless and the like when he played for the Miami Heat. Essentially, James has to go back to being the type player everyone hated, while completely abandoning his weird affection for isolation plays. He must let go of the misguided idea that isolation ball is an aggressive style of play.
Simply be you, LeBron. Be the “real” you. It’s Cleveland’s only chance.