Every life is different.
Some lives acquire a linear quality — they steadily march forward, not necessarily without blemishes or problems, but in ways that enable individuals to move from one place or challenge to the next.
For others, life takes on a circular nature — specific details might change, but larger patterns remain the same. Each new circle offers a reminder of the past. Tests might be new, but their contours and contents are familiar.
The basketball life of LeBron James certainly falls under the latter description. Accordingly, it also seems that the recent history of the NBA is circling back into the present tense.
The Cleveland Cavaliers did sweep the Boston Celtics on Sunday, but their use of the broom did not come cleanly. A winning afternoon in New England was soiled by a dirty play from Boston big man Kelly Olynyk, which resulted in an injury to Cleveland forward Kevin Love. The afternoon became worse when classic knucklehead J.R. Smith carelessly used his right arm to blindly yet forcefully whack Boston’s Jae Crowder in the face. Yes, Crowder did push Smith before the whack and should have been called for a foul. Yet, professional athletes are supposed to play through contact and bad calls (or non-calls). Smith, a noted hothead, lost control. Smith is certain to be suspended for at least one game if not more. Love is very likely to miss a couple of weeks at minimum.
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[A brief side note about that play and the idea that it was dirty: While Olynyk was hustling and trying to get past Love — meaning that he did not possess malicious intent — his execution of a highly physical (and illegal) maneuver was so sloppy and neglectful that the reality of the play was dirty. This was “dirty as an extension of actions” more than “dirty as an indication of personal mindset.” The larger point: You can intend to make a play by using a trick or some sort of deft maneuver, but unlike Andrew Bogut or John Stockton, it’s clear that Kelly Olynyk doesn’t yet know how to perform illegal moves on a basketball court with the fluidity and seamlessness needed to minimize physical harm to an opposing player. Now back to our regularly scheduled article.]
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Seeing Boston either create a problem for Cleveland (Olynyk-Love) or goad a Cavalier into committing a suspension-drawing offense (Crowder-Smith) brought about this devastatingly witty tweet… witty because its underlying substance is hard to immediately dismiss:
Looks like the Celtics might have found yet another way to thwart LeBron's title hopes in Cleveland.
— Chris Abshire (@ChrisAbshire) April 26, 2015
When you realize the extent to which LeBron’s playoff history is intertwined with the Boston Celtics, you begin to get a sense of how the circle of NBA life is being replicated here, but with enough twists to create a fresh reality for King James.
There’s a cruel pattern at work here, taking the tweet above and giving it an all-too-painful quality for LeBron as a Cleveland Cavalier. In 2008 and 2010, LeBron and his Cavs couldn’t solve the Celtics. Standing on the other side of the divide was Ray Allen, wearing Celtic green. It wasn’t until LeBron moved to Miami that he was able to taste victory over Allen in the playoffs, in 2011 and 2012. He became a world champion by climbing past Allen and Boston in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals (more on that series shortly). Allen looked at what LeBron had in Miami and joined him in 2013. Allen helped LeBron win another championship and then contributed to another Eastern Conference title last season.
Why the focus on Ray Allen here? Now that LeBron is back in Cleveland, Allen — who was rumored to be about to join the Cavs at a much earlier point in this season — isn’t playing for any team. A helper for LeBron the previous two seasons in Miami and a player LeBron was able to defeat in 2011 and 2012, Allen is not helping LeBron in his second Cleveland go-round.
The Cavaliers sure could use him.
It’s a very simple point, isn’t it? No Kevin Love and no J.R. Smith means that Cleveland’s three-point shooting attack has taken two noticeable hits. Love hit a dagger three in Game 3 against Boston on Thursday, and Smith’s shooting had been a bright spot for Cleveland since the trade that brought him to the Cavs. Cleveland’s offensive spacing is sure to suffer in any game in which Love and Smith are out. Allen could have been in the Cavs’ rotation, but helping LeBron in a Cleveland uniform just hasn’t been in the cards for Allen.
The presence of Allen and James in recent NBA history brings up a number of memories, but the most salient one within the context of this discussion is the 2012 East Finals series. It’s a series that might very well emerge as a point of comparison in relationship with LeBron’s current playoff journey.
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If you recall, the Miami Heat’s 2012 East playoff run was made more difficult by an injury Chris Bosh suffered in Game 1 of the conference semifinals against the Indiana Pacers. Bosh returned in Game 5 of the East Finals against the Celtics, and played reduced minutes in Games 5 and 6, making a minimal impact on the series. In Game 7, though, his corner three-point shooting pushed Miami over the top. LeBron and Dwyane Wade brought Miami to the precipice of victory, but the third member of the Big Three arrived just in time to send the Heat to the NBA Finals once again, and — as it would turn out — LeBron’s first title.
While we wait for news on Kevin Love’s injury, it is starting to realize that if he’s out for somewhere from two to three weeks, Love’s absence from the Cleveland lineup could eerily mirror Bosh’s absence from the Heat in the 2012 playoffs. LeBron not being helped by Ray Allen while in Cleveland is one redrawn circle in his career. The Love injury could very possibly retrace another circle first carved out by Chris Bosh three years earlier.
It’s true that LeBron James enters the Eastern Conference semifinals — most likely against the Chicago Bulls — with multiple NBA titles. There is not the same pressure to win LeBron so clearly felt in 2012. Yet, the fact remains that with Bosh still feeling his way back into the flow of action, LeBron’s greatest performance — adjusted for the pressure of the situation — was Game 6 of that 2012 East Finals series against Boston. LeBron took matters into his own hands, quieting a raucous Boston crowd with 45 points on 19-of-26 shooting. (Yes, this was better than Game 5 against Detroit in 2007, though that’s a debatable claim. Opposing arguments would be listened to and allowed.)
We don’t hear about LeBron’s seflishness (or selflessness) the way we did when he hadn’t yet won a title. Nevertheless, the Love injury and likely Smith suspension will once again shine a spotlight on how proactive or cautious LeBron turns out to be in this next series at both ends of the floor. How LeBron handles the added pressure — and thinner roster — entrusted to him in these NBA playoffs will make for a fantastic story, one way or the other.
Let’s now see what LeBron James chooses to write in the great book of pro basketball history.