The Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers last night as LeBron James gave up the ball in clutch, again.
It’s a Wednesday night in Boston. The Cleveland Cavaliers will be on national TV and the Boston Celtics have come to play.
In the final seconds of the game, the Celtics are up by two points and the score is 101-99.
So you would think the Cleveland Cavaliers having the greatest player in the world will put pressure on the Celtics and put the ball in their best player’s hands. Right?
No.
Instead they let Kyrie Irving get the ball and dribble around and at 17 seconds he gets trapped in the corner.
At this time, the defense is set and it’s not until 10.5 seconds that LeBron James touches the ball. LeBron is double-teamed and unable to make a play on his own so he knows that somebody is open.
It is none other than the newly signed Deron Williams who is making his debut. He’s in the corner open for a three and he misses.
LeBron made the right play and he is a pass first player that can see the whole floor. A lot of people would not have seen Williams and would have forced a wild shot but LeBron has vision.
The same night Kawhi Leonard hits a game winning shot over Paul George by backing him down and shooting a fadeaway jumper.
This is the kind of offense that the Cavaliers should have thought about during this game.
If you have the best player in the world, I’m sorry but LeBron should be your first and only option.
LeBron was dominating the whole game and achieved a triple-double. Do they not think that he can get them two points in the final 28 seconds?
LeBron is 6-foot-8, 250 pounds and him driving down the lane will surely create some kind of contact that will force a foul and two points at the line.
In a game against Washington before the All-Star break, LeBron showed his clutch gene when he shot a fadeaway buzzer beater at the three-point line.
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I’m not saying that he has to do that but what I am saying is that when the team needs a point the ball should be in his hands to set up the offense and create offense.
That means driving to the lane to kick out to shooters, backing down his defender and shooting a shot or when a double team comes he can kick it out to a shooter, and driving to the lane to draw a foul.
Let’s face it.
LeBron isn’t a great shooter but what he can do is set up a shot for somebody like Kyle Korver to hit a three.
LeBron’s skill that displays his incredible basketball IQ is his passing and how he can create open opportunities for his teammates. Making his teammates better is what has gotten him three rings and made him the player that he is today.
He should never lose his pass-first mentality because more times than not a shot for him won’t be there and he will have to rely on his teammates to get the points.
Irving is a great player and he is the one with the clutch gene but to have him dribble up the court and dribble around to create his own shot isn’t always going to work.
Getting the whole team involved with LeBron setting up the offense will put more pressure on the defense to actually play defense.
The loss to the Celtics isn’t the end of the world with J.R. Smith and Love on the mend but the Celtics definitely got a moral boost after that win.
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What did you think about last night’s game? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.