2017-2018 player preview: LeBron James
What should fans expect to see from Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James in the 2017-2018 season?
LeBron James will face one of the toughest challenges of his career in his 15th season as he tries to lead the latest group of Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals.
With Kyrie Irving replaced by a bevy of guards that don’t possess his shooting range, James’ three-point percentage will matter more than ever. So will his free-throw percentage, with defenders likely to pack the paint after seeing a backcourt of Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade flanking James.
James’ shooting from both these areas has been an issue for him throughout his career. Last season, James managed to shoot 36.3 percent from three-point range and that consistency will have to continue. He’ll have plenty if opportunities to shoot early in the season with Rose and Wade collapsing the defense on drives. However, James shot 67.4 percent from free-throw range last season and will need to greatly improve his efficiency from the charity stripe. Not only will James be able to make the defense pay for fouling him as they pack the paint but he’ll be more willing to attack the rim; James’ confidence is key and he’s at his best as a scorer when attacking the interior of the defense.
James, who called for the Cavs to add playmakers last season, no longer has to handle the ball superfluously with Rose, Wade and eventually Isaiah Thomas in the fold. He’ll be able to play off-ball more than he was in the past. That’s advantageous for both James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. James’ first step isn’t quite what it used to be and teammates hitting James with passes in stride, while the King has a full head of steam, is hard to stop.
In terms of off-ball offense, James made 40.7 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes, 83.1 percent of his shots after cuts and 68.4 percent of his shots as the pick-and-roll roll man.
Still, James is the fulcrum that the Cavs offense operates around and rightly so. James’ ability to survey the court and pick apart the defense should lead to plenty of open looks for Thomas, Kevin Love, J.R. Smith, Kyle Korver and Jae Crowder. Averaging 8.7 assists per game led to James creating 38.8 percent of the Cavs’ total assists last season but that number should go down with Rose, Wade and Thomas each possessing the ability to generate drive-and-kick offense.
However, from the elbow, James is uniquely dangerous as a passer. Last season, James passed the ball 69.2 percent of the time and had an assist percentage of 17.0. One play the Cavs ran from the elbow was the UCLA Cut. A play that James will likely utilize with Wade in Irving’s absence.
On such a guard-heavy team, James will need to play more power forward than he typically does in the regular season and he could see minutes at center in some lineups as well. For example, a lineup of Rose – Wade – Smith – James – Love or Thomas – Wade – Korver – Crowder – James are two possible combinations that Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue could put on the court. Luckily for the Cavs and James, he’s at his best when taking shots close to the basket.
James converted 80.4 percent of his post touches last season and 84.1 percent of his paint touches.
He’s also dangerous as a passer in the post, passing out of the post on 36.6 percent of his post touches. He passed out of the paint 30.1 percent of the time. Though his dominance down-low would cause defenders to want to double-team him, he’ll more than likely whip the ball to the open man before he was stripped.
James’ ability to score in isolation and take over in the clutch will be especially important while Thomas is out. Rose and Wade are solid iso players but nowhere near as effective as James, Irving or Thomas in isolation.
Last season, Irving had an insane effective field goal percentage of 53.2 in iso. James had an effective field goal percentage of 49.5. Thomas had an effective field goal percentage of 50.7. Wade (40.1) and Rose (43.4), simply lacked the efficiency of the others and the unpredictable creativity of Irving as a scorer. That impacts their effectiveness in the clutch too although Irving’s inclination to take tough shots led to him having a lower field goal percentage in the clutch than James, Rose and Wade.
Now to defense.
With the Cavs depth at the forward position and the extended NBA schedule, James should have ample rest. Rest that will allow him to give his all on both ends.
Last season, the Cavs’ defensive effort seemed to follow James’ example – whatever that may be. If James can consistently pressure his man and, when he’s able to play the passing lanes, get his hands on a few passes, it will go a long way towards improving the team’s defense.
Rose will be a better one-on-one defender than Irving was and Wade is still able to hold his own on the perimeter, so James won’t be under too much defensive pressure at the start of the season. Rose and Wade also have a higher degree of defensive awareness than their counterparts (Irving and Smith respectively).
The hope should be for Thomas’ intense film study to pay dividends on the defensive end this season. Although he’ll always be at a disadvantage against bigger wings, so will every guard. The goal should be for his pick-and-roll defense to be solid enough to prevent those switches.
With those factors and the addition of a defensive ace in Crowder, the Cavs’ halfcourt defense should be better than it was in years past.
Still, transition defense was a big issue for the Cavs last year and that can be helped by the addition of Crowder but James, the Godfather of the Chasedown Block, will have to sacrifice some of his cherry-picked transition baskets to stop the opposing team from scoring in fullcourt.
Again, with Irving essentially replaced by a three-headed Hydra of Rose, Thomas and Wade, James will have a lot of the playmaking weight taken off his shoulders. That, along with the rest he should receive this season, should give him enough energy to re-emerge as one of the games best two-way players.
In such a critical year, James should consider dialing back the public criticism of the team this season. It’s often the cause of media chaos in Cleveland and the Cavs have enough obstacles to their success without internal discord turning into a hurdle as well.
As James chases his fourth NBA championship and eighth consecutive NBA Finals appearance, he’ll have the chance to further his NBA legacy and build his resume for the title of the best of all-time. It’s easy to take James for granted but never forget you’re witnessing greatness.