Counting
the 2018-18 regular season and the 2018 postseason, the one constant for the
now four-time defending Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers has
been four-time league MVP LeBron James. In season No. 15 he put incredible
numbers and was a major reason the Cavs fought through a lot of turmoil both on
and off the court; having their roster changed in a major way back in Feb. 8
and managed to win 50 games, capture the Central Division again and at least
have home court advantage in the opening round of the playoffs. James carried
that same drive and efficiency from the regular season into the postseason and
drove the Cavs all the way to the 2018 NBA Finals. Unfortunately, that sheer
will and determination was not enough to get the Cavs past the defending NBA
champion Golden State Warriors and the boys from “The Land” saw their season
end right on their home floor on Friday night and the question then came to
fruition for the second time about if this was the last game for James in a
Cavs uniform?
In
his supposed final game as a Cavalier, James had 23 points, seven rebounds,
eight assists on 7 for 13 from the floor and 9 for 11 from the free throw line
in 41 minutes as the Cavs lost Game 4 of The Finals versus the Warriors 108-85
to fall in the series 4-0 and see the now four-time defending Western
Conference champions win their second straight Larry O’Brien trophy; their
third in the last four seasons and the second one clinched on the Cavs home
floor.
It
marked the first sweep in The Finals since 2007 when a 22-year-old James and
his team was swept by the mighty San Antonio Spurs of future Hall of Famers Tim
Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, and head coach Gregg Popovich in his first
of nine finals appearances overall in his eventual Hall of Fame career.
James,
who said that he played the final three games of the series with a major bone
contusion in his right hand, which he injured out of frustration when he
according to Sam Amick of USA Today following
the tough loss in Game 1 after he punched a white board spent the final moments
of Game 4 on the sidelines figuring out what went wrong for him and the Cavs
and perhaps contemplating his next move as he will opt out of the final year of
his contract and become a restricted free agent in July.
“Self-inflicted
postgame after Game 1,” James, who had a brace on that injured hand said during
his postgame presser after the loss. “Very frustrated for a lot of different
reasons. Understanding how important a Game 1 is on the road for our ball club.
What it would have done for us. The way we played. The calls that was made
throughout the course of that game.”
“I
had emotions on the game was taken away from us. I had emotions of, ‘You just
don’t get an opportunity like this on the road,’ versus Golden State. To be
able to get a Game 1 and I let the emotions get the best of me, and pretty much
played the last three games with a broken hand.”
Whether
it was the injury to his hand or something else, James was not his usual
enthusiastic high energy self on either end of the floor, particularly in the
second half.
There
were times that when he went to the hole he left his shot short, which is very
rare for a guy that is built like a locomotive. There were a couple of times
when he went to the hole, he was called for an offensive foul.
On
top of that, he displayed the kind of body language of a player that looked
defeated. In one of the timeouts, he really got after his teammates, which is
not unusual but he did in the kind of way to where he just simply got
frustrated that his team was not following the game plan and allowing the
Warriors to get whatever they wanted at the offensive end and not making them
work at the defensive end.
To
bring James struggles offensively into context, he did not have a field goal
made from five minutes left in the second quarter until five minutes left in
the game.
Also,
he did not take the challenge of defending perennial All-Star Kevin Durant, who
in the Game 4 clincher had his first playoff career triple-double of 20 points,
12 rebounds and 10 assists, with three blocks on his way to earning his second
straight Finals MVP.
If
nothing else, this game put a conclusion to all those who argue that the
legendary Michael Jordan and LeBron James are in the same conversation or that
James is better than Jordan.
If
this was Michael Jordan on the verge of being eliminated in The Finals he would
have gone down swinging and he would have made sure his teammates did the same.
He
would have taken a shot nearly every time on the offensive end; try to snare
every rebound; get his teammates involved if that is what the defense was going
to allow and above all, he would have gotten into the shirt of the guy that was
lighting his squad up at the offensive end.
LeBron
James is an incredible player. A guy who can score with the best of them. Who
can run the team from the forward spot, shoot from distance and find the open
man.
That
said, an important part of being a great in the land of professional sports is
making your teammates better and having them rise to the moment when it is
called upon.
As
good as James is that did not happen and while in the early part of Jordan’s
career that was also the case, he eventually figured it out and so did his
teammates.
Goof
ups like what JR Smith had at the end of regulation in Game 1 where he does not
know the time and score cannot happen if you want to win titles.
Not
trying to slow down perennial All-Star Stephen Curry of the Warriors who hit a
Finals record nine three-pointers in the 122-103 win in Game 2 is inexcusable.
Then
in Game 3, Durant in the late moments of the contest with you down three
basically walks into a three-pointer that sealed the win.
“Any
media person that I see in person for the rest of my life who try to tell me
LeBron James is as good as Michael Jordan I’m just going to slap the hell out
of them right on the spot,” were the words of Hall of Famer and NBATV/NBA on
TNT analyst Charles Barkley about people feeling James is a better player than
Jordan.
He
added after a couple of expletives, “No questions asked. The next person who
walks up to me and says, ‘LeBron, whose amazing is as good as Michael Jordan or
competes like Michael Jordan,’ I’m just going to slap the hell out of you right
on the spot, and I’m going to take chances with the judicial system.”
Future
Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant echoed those same sentiments, all be it not to that
degree when he said on Instagram that his supporting cast was not like the ones
he had in the past.
To
an extent that is true because he did not have Kyrie Irving, who the Cavs
traded to the rival Boston Celtics back in the summer of 2017.
Say
what you want about George Hill, Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance, Jr., and Rodney
Hood, who the Cavs acquired at the Feb. 8 trade deadline or All-Star Kevin
Love, Tristan Thompson, Jeff Green, the previously mentioned Smith, and Kyle
Korver. The best player on the team and the leader of the team when push comes
to shove rises up and takes on all comers. That is what James is and when push
came to shove in Game 4 he did not bring to the table the kind of effort,
energy and focus he did when the Cavs faced elimination early on this past
postseason.
In
Game 7 of the opening round versus the Pacers on Apr. 29, a 105-101 win, James
had 45 points on 16 for 25 from the floor and 11 for 15 from the charity stripe
with eight boards, seven assists and four steals in 43 minutes to lead the Cavs
into the Semifinals. The Cavs swept the No. 1 East seeded Toronto Raptors 4-0.
In
Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals versus the Celtics, James in 46 minutes
nearly had his fourth triple-double of this postseason with 46 points, 11
rebounds and nine assists with two block shots to lead the Cavs to a 109-99 win
to tie the series at 3-3.
James
who was 5 for 7 from three-point range in the season saving victory had the
most points in his career when facing elimination.
He
made two back breaking triples in the final moments at the end of the shot
clock and had a banker where he drew the foul.
In
Game 7 at the Celtics, Green, Thompson, Hill, Smith, Nance, Jr., and Korver
combined for 52 points and James had 35 points with 15 rebounds, nine assists
and two blocks on 12 for 24 shooting and 8 for 11 from the foul line, playing
all 48 minutes in the 87-79 series clinching win on May 27.
“It
was a tough season. We went through a lot, but I think it made tougher. Made us
stronger,” Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue, who playoff record is 41-20 said after
the Game 4 loss, including a 5-11 mark in The Finals.
“The
new guys who had a chance to play in the playoffs for the first time. The new
guys who had a chance to experience The Finals, what you dream of doing when
you were a kid. They had that experience, but I told those guys now they see
what we have to do to get better and take that next step.”
That
being said, the focus and persistence to go down swinging James had in early
moments when the Cavs needed regardless of how the rest of the team played in
Game 4 on Friday night was not there.
It
is inexcusable for Hood to have the most shot attempts as he was an abysmal 4
for 14 from the field for 10 points with eight boards in 27 minutes. Love
managed just 13 points with nine rebounds on just 4 for 13 from the field.
With
the 2017-18 NBA season now in the books, the biggest question as the 2018
off-season begins is what where will James end up next season?
When
asked about that by Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com, James said, “I have no idea at
this point. The one thing that I’ve always done is consider obviously my
family.”
“Understanding
especially where my boys are at this point in their age. They were a lot
younger the last time I made a decision like this four years ago. I got a
teenage boy; a pre-teen and a little girl right now that wasn’t around as
well.”
“So,
sitting down and considering everything you know but my family is a huge part
of what I’ve decided to do in my career, and they will continue to be that.”
Whatever
James decides to do when it comes to his free agency, there are two things he
can take solace in.
First,
he played in all 82 games in the regular season for the first time in his
career and in all 22 postseason contests. He did this in season No. 15, leading
“The Association” in minutes both in the regular season (36.9) and the
postseason (42.0).
In
those minutes he did play, he put up averages during the regular season of 27.5
points, which was third in the league and his highest since his final season
with the Miami Heat in 2013-14. His 8.6 boards equaled a career-high, which he
set last season and set a career-high of 9.1 assists, which was second only to
the league leading 10.3 of reigning league MVP of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s
perennial All-Star Russell Westbrook. His field goal percentage of 54.2 was the
fourth highest of his career and his three-point percentage of 36.7 represented
the third highest.
Also,
during the regular season, James ranked fifth in the NBA in double-doubles with
52 and only the 25 triple-doubles by Westbrook were more than the 18 by James.
James
was even better in the postseason where his 34.0 scoring average led the NBA
and was the highest since his 35.3 in the 2009 playoffs. His 9.1 rebounds per
game is the fourth highest of his postseason career and his nine assists are a
career postseason best. His 53.9 field goal percentage was the third highest in
his postseason career.
In
this postseason alone, James authored eight games of 40 points or more; 15
double-doubles; four triple-doubles and scored 20-plus points in 21 of the 22
Cavs games this postseason. His 748 points in the 2018 postseason were just 11
points short of the 759 Jordan had in 1992 in leading the Chicago Bulls to
their second of their first three-peat.
When
James, who averaged 34.0 points, 10.0 assists, 8.5 rebounds in the 2018 Finals
was asked by ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, host of “NBA: The Jump,” about how he would
characterize this postseason for him and the team, he characterize it as their
entire season as “the unknown.”
He
added, “I wondered if we could hit a switch in the postseason? I figured if I
stayed laser sharp. If I came in with the right mentality. If I came in with
the right mindset that I could help fast track this.”
“It’s
never a success in the postseason when you lose, not for me. For me personally
being reliable to my teammates. Being able to play the game at a high level
with as many games and as many miles that I have on my body and put together a
run like I had in the postseason it’s something I can kind of remember. The
ending is obviously still fresh and still new, and you never want to lose.
Especially in this fashion being a competitor but it is what it is, and like I
said I punch my clock every day.”
Wherever
LeBron James goes, whether it is staying with the Cavs, or departing supposedly
to L.A. to play with the Lakers or the Philadelphia 76ers, he will have an
impact.
If
he stays put, the reality is the Cavs and their front office led by owner Dan
Gilbert and general manager Koby Altman will have a lot of work to do to make
this roster better to compete with the Warriors.
That
will be hard with no projected salary cap space this off-season to sign middle
of the road free agents. They have to decide to keep Green who is an
unrestricted free agent and Hood, who is a restricted free agent.
If
nothing else, the Cavs if James returns can no longer coast through the regular
season and they have to be healthy. Not having Love early on after the new
additions at the previously mentioned Feb. 8 trade deadline was of no help as
the team could not build the kind of cohesion and continuity necessary to
become the type of team that can be a real threat to win a title.
While
they were able to get things together it was not easy and this run of then
three straight trips to The Finals could have ended against the Pacers or the
Celtics. Those teams along with the Sixers are going to be better and if the
Cavs do not bring a better mentality into the regular season next year if James
returns, their run in the East has a great chance of concluding.
“The
most important is health,” James said when asked by ESPN’s Cavs’ reporter Dave
McMenamin building a team from scratch like the Cavs did on many occasions in
2017-18.
“You
need to build chemistry so fast and comradery so fast on the floor, and if you
have multiple injuries or you have multiple bodies out. When you’re starting
fresh its too hard, and I think with this season that’s what you kind of saw.”
“The
difference between this season and the difference between my first one in Miami
we didn’t have many injuries at all. We were definitely fresh together with
myself and D [Dwyane]-Wade, and [Chris] Bosh, UD [Udonis Haslem], Mike Miller
had a few injuries, but [Mario] Chalmers was available…We were pretty solid as
far as being injury prone.”
If
James leaves, the Cavs would go to rebuild mode and we all saw when that movie
played from 2011-14. They were abysmal without James until he came back in
2014-15.
While
the Cavs have the No. 8 overall pick in the upcoming draft, the last time a
player chosen in that position that became an All-Star was Vin Baker, who was
chosen by the Milwaukee Bucks 25 Junes ago, making the All-Star team four times
in his career.
To
illustrate this point even further, the prior player to Baker that was of
worthy note to be chosen No. 8 was Detlef Schrempf taken by the Dallas
Mavericks in 1985. He was named an All-Star three times; made the All-NBA Third
Team in 1995 and was twice named Sixth Man of the Year in 1991 and 1992.
In
the other two choices of the Lakers and the Sixers, the reality is neither one
of those teams is ready to take over the East and contend for championships. If
he goes to the Lakers, they would see the Warriors at least four times in the
regular season and their chances would be very low to take them down in the
postseason. In Philadelphia, Rookie of the Year candidate Ben Simmons is the
man ball handler and creator with no consistent jump shot to speak of and
All-Star center Joel Embiid cannot play the role All-Star Chris Bosh played
when he, James and Wade teamed up with the Heat where he basically became a
jump shooter and occasional three-point shooter.
He
has been the greatest player of his generation. He has been great individually
and has gotten his team whether it is the Miami Heat or the Cleveland Cavaliers
to the door step of greatness and in 2012 and 2013 with the Heat and in 2016
with the Cavs captured Mr. O’Brien.
“At
the end of the day I came back because I felt like I had some unfinished
business,” James said when asked by Nichols about what it meant to have a
second stint with the Cavs. “To be able to be a part of a championship team two
years ago with the team that we had and the fashion that we had is something
that I will always remember.”
James
hopes that as his career continues hopefully in Northeast Ohio if you talk to
Cavs fans and that they can reach The Finals again and hopefully with a better
squad win it.
If
James goes somewhere else, whether the West Coast or staying East, he is happy
with his choice and that team can be molded into one that can dethrone the
Warriors.
If
nothing else, he wants to make better on his 3-6 mark in the Finals, which
consists of a 1-3 record in the championship round against the Warriors.
Since
the 2011, James is a combined 24-0 in the first three rounds of the Eastern Conference postseason,
but just 3-5 in The Finals, which included the just mentioned record versus the
Warriors.
Only
Hall of Famer, and the NBA logo Jerry West with eight and Hall of Famer Elgin
Baylor with seven have more losses in The Finals than the six by James.
“For
me I so much to give to the game,” James when asked by Jason Lloyd of The Athletic if winning one championship
with the Cavs constitute unfinished business.
“When
you have a goal and you’re able to accomplish that goal it actually for me
personally made me even more hungry to continue to try win championships and I
still want to be in championship mode, and I think I’ve showed this year why I
will still continue to be in championship mode.”
Information,
statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 5/15/18 5:30 p.m. edition of “Pardon
the Interruption” on ESPN with Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon; 5/26/18 1
a.m. edition of ESPN’s “Sportscenter,” with John Buccigross and John Anderson;
6/8/18 NBA news from ESPN’s Bottom Line news crawl; 6/8/18 9 p.m. presentation
of Game 4 of the 2018 NBA Finals presented by YouTube TV on ABC with Mike
Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, and Doris Burke; 6/8/18 11:45 p.m. edition
of NBATV’s “Live at The Finals Postgame,” presented by YouTube TV with Casey
Stern, Grant Hill, Chris Webber and Charles Barkley; 6/9/18 news from NBATV’s
news crawl; www.espn.com/nba/team/schedule/postseason/_/name/cle/cleveland_cavaliers;
www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/1966/lebron-james;
www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/1966/lebron-james;
www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/1966/seasontype/3/lebron-james;
www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/1966/lebron-james;
www.espn.com/statistics; www.espn.com/nba/statistics/_/seasontype/2;
www.espn.com/nba/statistics/player/_/stat/double-doubles/sort/doubleDouble;
www.espn.com/nba/statistics/player/_/stat/double-doubles/seasontype/2;
www.espn.com/nba/statistics/player/_/stat/minutes/seasontype/2;
www.espn.com/nba/statistics/player/_/stat/minutes/sort/avgMinutes;
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jordami01.html;
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vin_Baker;
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detlef_Schrempf;
and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeBron_James.
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