Evolution of LeBron and the Cavs: A Look Back at the Season
As soon as LeBron James returned to the court after a two-week layoff, the Cleveland Cavaliers became the best team in the NBA. With the Central Division title in the bag and the second seed in the East secured, the Cavs are poised for a date with destiny in the NBA Finals through the efforts of the King.
But things weren’t always this good for the Cavs early in the season. Despite adding the superstar talents of LeBron and Kevin Love in the off-season to complement superstar guard Kyrie Irving, the team struggled at the gate. How bad? The team was playing very inconsistently on the way to an 18-12 record before injuries sidelined James after which the team played even worse going 1-7 without him.
As SBNAtion’s Yaron Weitzman pointed out, LeBron was equally inconsistent during those first 30 games even though he was still averaging all-star caliber numbers of 26 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists per game. The rest of his game, however, was far from LeBronesque: shooting below 50% from the field (compared to more than 50% the past five seasons), and 4 turnovers a game, a career-high. Worst of all, he was missing plenty of shots up close, didn’t finish as powerfully at the rim as he used to, and he was playing sub-par defense, too.
“If anything, that injury was a blessing in disguise as LeBron stormed out of the gates with fire in his eyes upon his return.”
Then, the Cavs world seemingly came crashing as LeBron went down with knee and back problems. Or so they thought.
If anything, that injury was a blessing in disguise as LeBron stormed out of the gates with fire in his eyes upon his return. James’ 28.3 points, 50% FG, 40% 3FG, 1.9 steals led the team to a 12-game winning streak. It set the tone for the rest of the season. That stretch brought LeBron back to MVP consideration while simultaneously leading a vastly improved team that included newly-acquired players J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, and Timofey Mozgov.
The King was more confident, at peace with his leadership role on the team, and more aggressive, driving to the hole more often and flushing down dunks with authority. There were hardly any bouts of sluggishness on defense as he led the team to an improved mark on that end of the court, limiting teams to 95.3 points and a whopping 12.8 point differential during the streak.
Since LeBron returned to the lineup on January 15, the Cavs are a staggering 33-10 despite the two losses against the Celtics this past week as the team rested its key players. James’ last five games also indicate that he’s ready to lead the team with a more all-around game in the playoffs as his assists (9.0) and rebounds (8.0) have gone up to near triple-double averages to go along with a more pedestrian 19.8 points per game.
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He may have needed 30 games to get used to leading the Cavs again, but LeBron is operating the court at an MVP level once more. Without their early season struggles, this team would have been on-pace for a 66 to 67 win season, good for or tied with the Golden State Warriors for the best record in the NBA.
The best player in the game is back to leading the best team in the game, even if their current record doesn’t show it. Doesn’t matter. Come playoff time, LeBron will be ready to take this team where it hasn’t been since he left—the NBA Finals.