King James Gospel
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This is NOT the LeBron James That We Know

By Omar Josef Guerrero

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Moments after the underdog Cleveland Cavaliers took down the mighty Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the 2015 NBA Finals, LeBron James achieved yet another milestone, one that would compare him to the greats of the game, having surpassed one of them Tuesday night.

In these Finals, James has 123 total points, the most any player has ever had in the history of the NBA after the first three games, shattering Hall-of-Famer Rick Barry’s 48-year-record of 122. He is currently averaging 41 points per game, on pace to join Barry, Elgin Baylor, and Michael Jordan as the only players to average 40 or more points in the championship round. That’s an amazing feat even for one as great a scorer as James is.

But in the process of scoring the way he has, James has become someone unrecognizable even to the people who know him best, people like his good buddy Dwyane Wade. LeBron has already jacked up 107 shots, a mind-boggling number to say the least and converted on only 43 of them for a below average (for superstars even) 40% shooting percentage heading into the fourth game of this hotly contested best-of-seven series.

The LeBron James that we know, had been evolving in Miami when the Heat emphasized quality shots over a higher volume of shots.

And that’s where the confusion lies.

It’s been three games already and there is no denying it: This is not the LeBron James that we know.

The LeBron James that we know, had been evolving in Miami when the Heat emphasized quality shots over a higher volume of shots. Over the past seven seasons, including his first go-round here in Cleveland, James had been improving his field goal shooting every year from .476 in 2006-07 to .567 in 2013-14. As far as I can remember, only Shawn Kemp and Avery Johnson have improved in as many consecutive years in NBA history.

June 7, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during a stoppage in play against the Golden State Warriors during the second half in game two of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

But the moment he stepped on the court this past season as the leader of the Cavaliers, he was different. It was almost as if he was thrust into a position that he was unfamiliar with and decided that he had to do things differently especially shooting wise. This season marked the first time that James’ field goal percentage dropped below 50%. Now on the NBA’s biggest stage, he has shed any and every idea we have of him as an efficient shooter, something that even he wishes he could go back to.

When it became apparent that his two superstar sidekicks, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, would not be able to help him get a championship for the Cavs due to their respective injuries, he decided to, in the immortal words of Kobe Bryant and Steve Kerr, just let it fly.

No this is not the LeBron James that we know. Right now, he’s looking a lot more like Bryant and Kerr’s Warriors team than the one we’ve seen the past several seasons.

No this is not the LeBron James that we know. Right now, he’s looking a lot more like Bryant and Kerr’s Warriors team than the one we’ve seen the past several seasons. In postgame interviews regarding the dip in his shooting percentage, he has said that this is not the way he wants to play but this is the way he needs to play in order for the Cavs to become NBA champions.

The assists are still there, more than eight a game, in fact. He’s still passing the ball to his teammates but there’s a lot of isolation plays, too. Too much for some analysts, actually. But former NBA player, Warriors coach, and now ESPN analyst Mark Jackson is comfortable with James taking a majority of his shots on Iso’s.

With Love and Irving out and many of his teammates playing with injuries, he revealed his mindset to Wade on ESPN after Game 3 that he just wants to put pressure on the defense at the expense of his field goal percentage. He had to do this. He had to change if the Cavs have any hope of winning the championship. He can’t be the LeBron James that we know and win the chip.

No, this is not the LeBron James that we know and not the LeBron James that we deserve. But this is the LeBron James that we need. If we hope to see the Cavaliers win against the high-octane offensive juggernaut that is the Golden State Warriors, then this is the LeBron James that we’ll be getting for the time being.

Jun 9, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) handles the ball Golden State Warriors guard

Andre Iguodala

(9) during the second quarter in game three of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

"“During the season we had Kevin and Kyrie who were able to take a little bit of the load off LeBron in terms of how many shots or what he had to do. But right now in the playoffs, he’s getting it in good spots. He’s getting it on the block and in terms of the matchups, who is guarding him, he is taking advantage of it. … He’s special, so he’s got to do what he’s got to do and if that means taking 30 shots for us to win, that’s our best bet.”"

With a 2-1 record that could easily have been 3-0, it appears as though this version of James is the winning formula for the Cavs. Throw away those efficiency numbers out the window. We need this aggressive LeBron James who will take no prisoners, one that’s defined more by grit than glamour.

Teammate Tristan Thompson, a guy who hardly shoots the basketball but would rather grab it from the glass, is in full support of this version of his leader.

Thompson and his teammates are fine with James taking that many shots. And if we want Cleveland to win its first-ever NBA championship, then we should be fine with this LeBron James, too. We may not know this LeBron nor deserve this one, but he is the one we need.

And we should be fine with that. I know am.

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