The Cleveland Cavaliers are 33-22. They’ve won fourteen of their last sixteen games. People are talking about them as championship contenders again. Not surprisingly, this turnaround has been led by LeBron James, whose improved play since returning from a two week hiatus has put him back into the MVP conversation. But is it possible that a player who is averaging 25.9 points, 7.3 assists, and 5.6 rebounds per game is still underachieving? In the case of LeBron James that is exactly what is happening, although likely not in the way that you think.
When James announced his return to the Cleveland Cavaliers last July 11th, he stated that he was ready to begin the process of leading the Cavs to their first NBA championship. Unfortunately there have been far too many times this season where James has been anything but the leader this team needs. He has complained and sulked to referees during games instead of getting back on defense.
He repeatedly undermined coach David Blatt through both lack of support as well as a series of passive-aggressive comments. He’s admittedly played games in “chill mode” at times even though he also admits that teammates follow his lead in terms of the energy level and effort that is brought to games. Finally, and perhaps most egregiously, he has called out teammate Kevin Love, who has played hurt and made tremendous sacrifices to his game without any real complaint, while not truly holding himself to the same standard.
LeBron can talk all he wants about fitting in and being part of something special, but make no mistake, LeBron wants wants his teammates to fit in on his terms. It’s easy to say you’re willing to take a smaller role and/or come off the bench when there is absolutely no chance of that happening. It’s another thing to pick up your defensive intensity, go down in the post, or move aggressively without the ball even though you might not receive a lot of attention for it.
Unfortunately these are not things LeBron has been willing to do with consistency this season and it has had a negative impact on his team. The biggest reason the San Antonio Spurs are so successful is the way their players sacrifice themselves for the greater good. After losing to San Antonio in the NBA Finals last year one would think James realizes that, but there are times when it doesn’t seem to be so.
None of this is to say that anyone shouldn’t be happy that LeBron James has rejoined the Cavaliers. When healthy James is still the best player on the planet. He is also a smart player and terrific passer who rarely has the need to score in isolation that other superstars are known for. For the most part he has been a tremendous teammate who strives to bring the rest of the locker room closer together as he recognizes the importance of that feeling on championship teams.
Perhaps most impressively, he has used his celebrity and status as the world’s best basketball player to help those in need in ways that Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan never did. But if he’s ever going to match those men in terms of championship rings, he must become the kind of man who always leads the right way and not just the way he wants to.
What do you think about LeBron James’ performance so far this season?