LeBron James gears up for playoff run

An outsider in the MVP conversation for much of the season, the 4-time MVP has switched gears as the postseason arrives.

There has been a lot of chatter this season about LeBron James‘ prime. How many years does he have left being an elite player? Following last season, where James ambled into the playoffs on the back of a season where his shooting numbers dropped across the board, where he missed a career high number of games, the concerns were very real. However, as this season has worn on, James has slowly but surely turned back the clock once again.

They say father time conquers all, and they are right. But I doubt father time has ever faced an opponent so ready to take it on like James is. Arguably the world’s best conditioned athlete, James has expert trainers such as Mike Mancias watch him around the clock, helping him get his body right for game day. So far the results have been excellent. Similarly, the Cavaliers’ coaching stuff has done an excellent job of keeping James rested throughout the season.

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Like his team, James has clearly coasted for much of this season and this is evident when you break down his season into 20-game blocks. As the season has progressed, James’ efficiency has seen an uptick. His first 20 games of the season came with Kyrie Irving out and LeBron averaged 26.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.4 assists, excellent numbers. However, his trademark efficiency was lacking once again as he shot 49.5% from the field, 28.4% from long distance and 71.7% from the free-throw line, all sub-par by his standards.

James’ next 20 games coincided with Irving’s return and the firing of David Blatt, arguably the most tumultuous time during the Cavs’ season. In this period, James averaged just 23.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.1 assists. His field goal percentage and three-point percentage was slightly higher in this period at 50.4% and 29.3%, respectively.

The Cavaliers’ next block of 20 games was spread before and after the All-Star break and once again, James’ efficiency saw a slight increase from the field, moving up to 51.3%. However, his three-point percentage remained at a poor 27.6%. LeBron averaged 24.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.4 assists in this period.

However, it is in this last block of games (currently 12) where James has really ramped up his production. In this period where the Cavs have gone 9-3, James has averaged 25.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game, closer to his career averages. More importantly, James’ shooting numbers have risen across the board. In this period, he has shot 56.9% from the field as well as 35.3% from three-point range and 80.3% from the free-throw line.

The most impressive facet of James’ season is arguably his ability to keep scoring despite having his jump shot fail him all season. The shot chart below shows just how cold James has been from the field.

Swish_shotchart /

However, to James’ credit he hasn’t kept firing away from deep despite his poor shooting touch this season. Noting the decline in his ability to score from the perimeter, James has done away with the majority of his long 2’s and focussed on scoring inside.

According to Basketball Reference, 45.9% of James’ field goal attempts this season have been between 0-3 feet from the basket, easily a career high. In James’ best shooting years with the Miami Heat, he prioritised good looks and this appears to be something he is once again doing. In three out of his four seasons with the Heat, over 80% of his shot attempts were two-point shots, peaking at 87.3% in the 2011-12 season.

Comparatively, last season James seemed to settle for a lot more outside shots, resulting in just 73.5% of his shots coming from inside the arc. However, this season James has once again focussed on scoring inside and 80.3% of his shots have been two-pointers, reminiscent of his Miami days.

Further evidence of James’ tendencies can be seen in the average distance of his shot attempts. This season, James’ shots have been an average of 9.6 feet from the basket, a career low. Compared to the figure from James’ career overall (12.0) and last season (12.6) it is clear that he has made a concerted effort to score inside.

As a result of these changes to his game, James’ field goal percentage is once again trending upwards, as it did for seven straight season prior to last year’s major drop off.

The Cavaliers are on the precipice of yet another playoff run and their strongest weapon looks to be hitting his best form of the season as the business end comes around.

James was destructive in last year’s post-season run despite coming off a relatively poor season by his lofty standards.

This year, he is healthy, rested and is absolutely on a tear heading into the business end of the season.

Opponents best beware.