Is LeBron James Right about No Big Three?
The Cleveland Cavaliers have brought together LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. Talk about a power trio. Yet according to James they are not a Big Three:
LeBron: we're not a Big Three. We're a team
— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) October 21, 2014
Yet is James right about that? Is he just giving the media and fans words that he means but that are inaccurate?
To analyze the accuracy of James’ comments we first want to look back at the last two Big 3’s, the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics. If those teams were really Big 3 teams, can we identify reasons that this Cavs team is not a Big Three as LeBron contends? We will look at each roster for their first season together.
Boston Celtics
Big Three – Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett
Other Starters – Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins
Contributors – James Posey, Eddie House, Tony Allen, Glen Davis, Leon Powe and Brian Scalabrine
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In the 2007 season Rondo was a young player who was going to be thrown into a starting role alongside the Big Three. He wasn’t the player we know now. He averaged just over 10 points with 5 assists and 4 rebounds. With the other stars on his team his chances were limited but his low assist totals shows how little was expected of him that season. Yet at 10 points, Rondo was the 4th highest scorer on the team.
Perkins was also young but was the physical defender to pair with the length and quickness of Garnett in the post. Perkins played his role fine but was not relied on for anything on the offensive end. Yet he still ended up 6th on the team in scoring, just behind Posey. He was second on the team in rebounds, with 6 a game, behind Garnett’s 9 boards. He also had a block and a half a game. Perkins played his role perfectly.
The bench contributors also had their roles that they played. Posey was the 3 and D guy who could take some pressure off Pierce on the wing. Allen was not yet at his prime but played a similar role as Posey. House was the gunner/3 point shooter off the bench. Davis and Powe were low post bangers and Scalabrine gave some stretch 4 help to the team.
Big Three? Yes – This is a prototype Big Three type team. Pierce, Allen and Garnett were the only players on the team you had to game plan for in anyway on the offensive end of the ball. Rondo and Perkins played their roles off of the Big Three but were not high level contributors who could take over a game when the other starters were struggling. The bench was full of role players who would struggle with higher level responsibilities.
Miami Heat
Big Three – Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh
Other Starters – Carlos Arroyo and Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Contributors – Mario Chalmers, James Jones, Joel Anthony, Eddie House, Mike Miller, Erick Dampier, Juwan Howard and Mike Bibby
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The Heat went through a number of starting lineups this season trying to figure out who would fit around their Big Three. Arroyo and Ilgauskas has the most starts at the other two spots. Arroyo started 42 games and put up 5.6 PPG and 2 assists from the point guard spot. He did shoot 44% on three pointers but barely shot more than one a game. Big Z was on his last legs by the time he got to Miami. He put up 5 points to go along with 4 rebounds a game. Though he started 51 games and played in 72 he averaged just less than 16 minutes a game.
The Heat also trotted out a ton of different players off the bench, some of whom started over 20 games for the team, to try to help the Big Three. Chalmers was going into his third season this year and put up just over 6 points and shot 36% from three point range. He also added 2.5 assists per game. Jones was the big three point specialist off the bench with a great 43% shooting on over 3 attempts a game. Miller only played in 41 games and the big man group of Dampier, Howard and Ilgauskas were joined by young Joel Anthony to provide underwhelming support of the Big Three.
Big Three? Yes – This Heat group was a perfect example of a Big Three type team. The next highest scorer on the team, after Bosh’s 18.7, was Udonis Haslem, who only played in 30 games, at 8.0. Mike Bibby was brought in mid-season and averaged 7.3, Chalmers at 6.4 and Miller and Arroyo and 5.6 round out the players over 5 points per game. The Heat had three great players and a bunch of role players who struggled to have an impact on the game. Protype of a Big Three
Cleveland Cavaliers
Big Three – Kyrie Irving, LeBron James and Kevin Love
Other Starters – Dion Waiters and Anderson Varejao
Contributors – Tristan Thompson, Shawn Marion, Mike Miller, Matthew Dellavedova and Joe Harris
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The Cavs have brought in two new starters from a team that struggled last season. Yet Waiters showed signs last year of a player who could take over a team, especially on the offensive end of the floor, and dominate. While he is a little inconsistent and sometimes takes bad shots, he has a far higher skill level than any fourth guy on the above rosters.
Similar with the developed game of Varejao. Andy is known as a role player who plays great defense and rebounds. Yet over the past few seasons he has developed a deft jump shot from the elbow that causes teams to take him seriously there. His passing from anywhere on the floor is also above average. Last year Andy averaged over 8 points a game and almost 10 boards. This pre-season he has had games of 14 and 22 points, the latter coming against the solid front line of the Chicago Bulls.
Thompson has been a starter for his entire career with the Cavs. He still could start some games in place of Varejao. His offensive game is not yet where Andy’s is but his energy and activity is huge on both sides of the floor. Marion may have sacrificed the most to come to this team. Financially Marion took far less money and his production may take a greater hit. Marion could start for most playoff teams this year. Instead he will see backup minutes for the Cavs. Miller is healthy and a knock down shooter but is clearly a role player while Delly and rookie Joe Harris still will have to prove their ability to play specific roles for the team.
Big Three? No – The 2014-15 Cleveland Cavaliers are not a Big Three team because they have five players that could take over and control games. Irving, James and Love are joined by Waiters and Marion on that list. They also have two big men, Varejao and Thompson, who are great at what they do and are beyond just limited role players. Miller has a specific role to fill and should fill it above average, if he stays healthy, while the Cavs still have some youth that can develop into solid role players with the team.
It looks like LeBron James was right. This is not a Big Three, this is a full team. Far better than the Heat team he joined and likely better than that Celtics team. How they all gel on the court and learn to play together will be a key but for now it looks like we need to bury the Big Three moniker. This is the Cleveland Cavaliers – All for One, One for All.
Do you agree of disagree with James’ statement and our backing of it?