LeBron James needs to get selfish if the Cavaliers
CLEVELAND Its LeBron. Still.As the NBA Finals have shifted here to Quicken Loans Arena, where Game 3 will take place at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday after a pair of drubbings leveled on the Cavs by the Warriors, much time and energy was spent figuring out what coach Tyronn Lue can do to get his team back to looking something like the group that cruised through the Eastern Conference postseason with a 12-2 mark. That group was swinging the ball and creating open looks. They were picking and rolling past lead-footed defenders.
Jerome Robinson Jersey They were knocking down perimeter jumpers.MORE: That group is gone, though. The Cavs cant play that way against the Warriors. Thats how the Warriors play, and theyre better at it than Cleveland.What the Cavs need to do and yes, we are repeating ourselves here is feed LeBron James. Slow down the games. Keep things ugly and physical. Then dump it to James and let him operate in the post. Let him take 30-35 shots. The Cavaliers might not win that way, either, not with Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green and friends wrapping up James. But they will look a lot better than they did getting their doors blown off as they tried to keep pace with Golden State in Game 2. I try to
Los Angeles Clippers Jersey do whatever it takes to help our team win, and I do everything offensively, defensively, getting guys involved, rebounding, everything, James said. So my game doesnt waver one way or the other. Im not a pure scorer, Im not an all-a sist guy. Im not just a rebounder. I do everything. So for me, I said that after Game 2 that Ive got to play better, but as far as my numbers, I dont worry about that.MORE: But there is a number to be worried about:shots attempted. James took 21 in Game 1. He took 17 in Game 2, when he spent the fourth quarter on the bench. He needs more. As this series has unfolded, the depth of the Warriors has exposed the relative thinne s of the Cavaliers roster, even with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love healthy. The top stars for the Warriors in the first two games were not Steph Curry or Klay Thompson. They were Shaun Livingston and Draymond Green.James should not be concerned about getting guys involved. If the remainder of the series is about supporting casts, it will be over fast. If it is about James, the Cavs can get back into the thing.James could be without forward Kevin Love in Game 3, as Love must clear the NBAs concu sion protocol. Lue might be forced to alter his lineup, which he might do even with a healthy Love. On Tuesday, there was talk of forgotten center Timofey Mozgov getting the starting nod, with Tristan Thompson at power forward, a duo that could hit hard at one of the Warriors weakne ses rebounding.Timo has to be ready, Lue said. There is a chance and an opportunity for him to play. Weve talked about that as a staff. You
Patrick Beverley Jersey just have to be ready to play, and well see what happens from there.MORE: That might be ideal, especially if Mozgov and Thompson can do damage on the offensive boards. Keep it simple: Rebound James mi ses, guys, then get it back to James for another crack.Those nifty pick-and-rolls that Kyrie Irving ran so well in the postseasons first month-and-a-half? Scrap those. As Lue said for what seems like the 134th time, the Warriors switch everything in pick-and-rolls, and Irving has not been able to get space.He got to the free-throw line 12 times in Game 1, but the Warriors were more disciplined in laying off him in Game 2 (and the referees were le s whistly), leaving Irving to be swallowed up in the paint. He is shooting 12-for-36 in the seriesand made no trips to the line on Sunday. Hes only 1-for-7 from the 3-point line in the Finals, but had been shooting 45.6 percent from the arc in the first 14 playoff games. If James dominates the ball the way he should, Irving should be a spot-up shooter and not much more.MORE: James has come out
Blake Griffin Jersey in these Finals and posted two miserable game lines, with 42 combined points on 42.1 percent shooting. Hes committed 11 turnovers and has gone to the free-throw line just four times in each of the first two games.It was suggested to James that he could play like a man po se sed in Game 3
Chris Paul Jersey , like Michael Jordan did when his teams trailed in series. James gave a slight roll of the eyes.I mean, what does that actually mean? he said. I think for me to go out and be who I am and play as true to the game and as hard as I can and try to lead this team, that is who I am, nobody else. Im not Michael. Im not (Muhammad) Ali. Im not nobody else that's done so many great things for sport. I am who I am, and if Im able to go out and put together a game like that, it wasnt because I was po se sed. Its because I worked on my craft all season long and that's the result of it.MORE: And thats fine. No one needs to be po se sed to win the NBA Finals, and James can be who he is. He just cant be the LeBron he was in the first two games. He cant worry about keeping everybody involved. If the Cavs have a chance to make this a series again, James will have to make it about him.