Mike Brown Says This Is Best Team LeBron's Ever Had

Is this the best team LeBron James has ever played with?

Mike Brown, the former long-tenured coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers says this is best team LeBron has ever had.

While there are many times LeBron has displayed his greatness, he hasn’t always had a great team, and for that reason I had to discount the 2006-2007 Cavaliers team. To date, LeBron’s favorite teammate has been Zydraunus “Big Z” Ilgauskus. In my opinion, a team featuring the ahead-of-his-time Big Z has to be listed. The 2010-2011 Heat prove what the 2014-2015 Cavs prove, great talent isn’t the same as a great team.

This is my list of LeBron’s best teams to date:

2008-2009 Cavs

* LeBron’s 1st MVP season

* 28.4/7.6/7.2 slash line and shot 34.4% from the three by LeBron

* Got great spacing from the three-point shooting by Mo Williams, Daniel Gibson, Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West, and Sasha Pavlovic.

* Valuable defense was provided by Ben Wallace

* Double-digit scoring from Williams, Ilgauskus, and West

* Finished with 66 wins, 1st in the conference

* Ranked 1st in Opponents points/game

* Lost in Eastern Conference Finals

Despite being one of if the best team’s LeBron was on in his first stint in Cleveland the team lacked depth, youth, and versatility. As well as somebody to stop that Dwight Howard.

2011-2012 Heat

* LeBron’s 1st championship

* LeBron’s 1st Finals MVP

* 27.1/7.9/6.2 slash line shooting 36.2% from the three by LeBron

* Won a modest 46 games in the regular season

* Two other players, who happened to be Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, averaged double-digit scoring

* Great shooting from Mike Miller, James Jones, and Mario Chalmers

* Played on a team with highly regarded Shane Battier

* Top 8 in points per game and opponents points per game and offensive and defensive rating

This was the year that LeBron began playing in Miami’s decided upon offensive system which featured inverted roles and talents from it’s frontcourt and backcourt players that allowed LeBron to play around the team and thrive. Around this time, LeBron was asked to play in the post more. Even though he didn’t necessarily like doing it.

2012-2013 Heat

* LeBron’s 2nd championship

* LeBron’s 2nd Finals MVP

* Won 66 games, 1st in the conference

* Top 10 in points per game and opponents points per game and offensive and defensive rating

* 26.8/8.0/7.3 slash line shooting 40.6% from the field

* Great shooting from the three was provided by Battier, Ray Allen, Mike Miller, Chalmers, Rashard Lewis, and Norris Cole

* Still teammates with Wade and Bosh

Seemingly, this was the year the Cavs momentum couldn’t be stopped. Their 27-game win streak was historical. The three were wreaking havoc on their opponent though Bosh was still trying to adapt to a role and fit in.

Onto his current squad:

2015-2016 Cavaliers

* Won 57 games, 1st in the conference

* Top 10 in points per game and opponents points per game and offensive and defensive rating

* 25.3/7.4/6.8 slash line

* Great shooting from Matthew Dellavedova, J.R. Smith, Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye, and Kevin Love

* Double-digit scoring from Kyrie Irving, Love, and Smith

* Playing a system that caters to LeBron’s strengths

The current Cavs boast a talented roster top to bottom with offensive and defensive versatility only rivaled by the Golden State Warriors. The prolific shooting from three opens up doors for LeBron to be aggressive and Irving to operate like Wade. Love plays like an aggressive Bosh as of late but trades in the former’s quickness for outstanding rebounding.

Verdict

This current Cavs squad has never looked better. It doesn’t feature the rebounding weaknesses of the Heat in LeBron’s Era and is more prolific from three, save for the lack of touch from James.

The thing about his three-point shooting resembling that of his rookie season shows me one thing, and that’s that he’s been thinking too much. As of late, because of the system that his coach has created, that hasn’t been a problem. He’s been allowed to watch and react thus far in the playoffs because of Irving and Love’s aggression. This is great for the regular season health of LeBron though not his scoring totals.

But I have a feeling that against deep teams like the Heat and the Warriors that we may see a spike in LeBron’s scoring.

Which team do you think is LeBron James’ best?

Mike Brown Says This Is Best Team LeBron’s Ever Had

By Quenton S. Albertie | May 15, 2016