LeBron James receiving plenty of help throughout the playoffs

The Cleveland Cavaliers extended their series lead to 3-0 on Friday night, with a 121-108 win over the Atlanta Hawks, in a game where LeBron James, like he has throughout the entire playoffs, received plenty of help.

The Cavaliers had no choice but to lean on James to an unhealthy degree during last year’s playoffs. With Kevin Love out and Kyrie Irving hobbled, Cleveland was going to go as far as James could take them.

He took them pretty damn far, as the Cavs were just two wins shy of celebrating an NBA championship.

Thus, the question was being asked heading into this post-season: just how good can a fully healthy Cavalier team be in the playoffs?

Now, as the Cavs are on the fringe of another sweeping job in Atlanta, that question has been answered with no grey area. With a fully fit and firing supporting cast, the Cavaliers are playing the best basketball of the post-season and they haven’t been riding the coattails of James in the process.

“We’re a team that’s destined for greatness, and I really believe that,” James said after the Cavs Game 3 win over the Hawks, via Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.

With the amount of help James is getting at the moment, he has every single reason in the world to believe that statement.

To be clear, it’s not like James has been any slouch this post-season. If anything, James has upped his game to another level, averaging 23.9 points, 8.6 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 2.4 steals per game, while shooting 50.8 percent from the field and a league average 33.3 percent from beyond the three-point line.

However, those numbers are divergent from James’ box score bashing in last year’s playoffs. In a historic run, James put up 30.1 points, 11.3 rebounds, 8.5 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.1 blocks per game, with a shooting rate of just 41.7 percent and 22.7 percent from beyond the arc.

Those out-worldly performances haven’t been necessary from James during the Cavs perfect 7-0 start to the playoffs, thanks to his other Big 3 mates that were absent last season and a flurry of rotation players, such as Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith and most recently, Channing Frye.

The Game 3 victory over the Hawks was the epitome of how James’ teammates have provided adequate support.

In the first quarter, it was Love who had the hot hand, as he scored 13 points in the opening period, shooting 4-of-8 from the field and adding seven rebounds. Despite experiencing two poor shooting nights to begin the series, Love has been able to stay aggressive and it paid off in Game 3.

Prone to falter when things didn’t go his way during the regular season, Love has had a change of mindset in the playoffs. While he wasn’t shooting well, Love was still rebounding at a proficient rate and going to the right spots at the right time on the defensive end.

However, Love was eventually going to break out of his shooting slump and he did it in Game 3. When James and Irving are driving to the rim, Love gets a ton of open looks on the perimeter. This was the case in the opening quarter and to Love’s credit, he was knocking them down. Additionally, Love didn’t rely on the long shot, as he was able to mix it up and drive to the rim on occasions.

Love has been a different animal in the post-season, doubling up in every game thus far. Averaging 17.7 points and 12.4 rebounds, Love is finally looking like the player the Cavs traded for a couple of year’s back, and he has decided to explode at an ideal time.

The other member of the Big 3, Irving, has constantly shown he is made for the playoff stage. After struggling to find his rhythm in the regular season, Irving has been able to put up just under 25 points a night in the post-season, burning the nets at a ridiculous 55.1 percent tune from beyond the three-point line.

Often ridiculed for over-dribbling and clogging up the Cavs offense, Irving has been able to make an impact within the flow of the game. Irving is looking to make the extra pass, without losing that killer mindset he needs to take over the game on the offensive end.

In the fourth quarter, Irving has been in his typical takeover mode, averaging 7.2 points in the final period, the most of any Cavalier. Irving has been able to maintain a 46.4 field goal percentage and a 54.5 three-point percentage in the fourth quarter, as he is adding effectiveness with his scoring when the Cavs need it most.

Irving’s fourth quarter efforts have an added sense of significance when you consider how much of a load James had to carry in clutch moments in last year’s playoffs. With two closers in Irving and James on the floor at the same time, it eliminates the need for the Cavs to go to an iso-heavy attack. With Irving and James’ driving abilities, it opens up catch and shoot opportunities for guys like Smith and Frye.

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Smith has been red-hot throughout the post-season, shooting a crazy 52.6 percent from the three-point line. Whether it is falling out of bounds, off one-leg or with a defender all over him, it hasn’t bothered Smith, as he is in the best stretch of his career shooting the basketball.

However, Frye was the unexpected hero in the Game 3 triumph over Atlanta. Scoring a team-high 27 points, knocking down 7-of-9 from downtown, Frye added an extra dimension to the Cavs already scary offensive attack.

With Atlanta intentionally fouling Thompson and Love battling foul trouble, the Cavaliers needed someone to step up during their comeback. Frye was the man, adding three triples in the final period. Frye’s three-pointers were on wide-open, catch and shoot attempts, exactly the way they should be.

Finally, Thompson has been doing what he always does, pulling down 5.1 offensive rebounds per game in the playoffs. Cleveland is hard enough to stop for 24 seconds but when Thompson is gaining them extra possessions, it beats down the opposition both physically and mentally.

“Myself, Kyrie and Kevin can’t step on the floor by ourselves,” James said, via Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report, per NBA TV. “We need the other two starters and the other eight, 10 guys on the roster and beyond that to do their jobs and they allow us to do our jobs.”

Those jobs are being done perfectly almost half way through the playoffs and it has allowed James to loosen up that huge burden he carried on his shoulders last year.