The Cleveland Cavaliers are counting on LeBron’s defense this season

The Cleveland Cavaliers have the best leader in the NBA in LeBron James and he must set the tone defensively this year.

I would sound like a broken record if I said the Cleveland Cavaliers weren’t good on defense last season. Everybody and their brother knows that. As a result, I’m not going to rehash on that a lot, especially with Cleveland’s roster makeover this off-season. Despite the Cavaliers now having one of the deepest rosters in the NBA, it doesn’t mean those bodies don’t have miles on them. Taking that into consideration, LeBron James needs to be the most valuable player on defense as well for Cleveland.

With the Cavs being one of the oldest teams in the Association, it’s kind of hard to ask James to be a primary stopper. Nonetheless, he is one of the most athletic players in the history of the NBA, so it’s not as if he’s not up for that task. These on-off statistics, courtesy of The Ringer’s Jonathan Tjarks, pretty much sum it all up for Cleveland in regards to James.

In the regular season, the Cavs were plus-7.7 with James. With him on the bench, they are minus-8.5. Against even better teams in the playoffs, that was magnified, and particularly against the Monstars, the Golden State Warriors. Cleveland was minus-37.4 without the King on the floor; they were minus-37.4 in 28 total minutes James wasn’t playing! So for all you LeBron haters, you can hush (cough..SKIP).

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So why is James’ defense so crucial this season? Well, the factor of the matter is, to be the best player in basketball for the last ten years (conservatively speaking), you have to make a tremendous impact on both ends. James is not going to play every defensive possession like it’s his last, and I get that. That said, this year’s Cavs roster needs his defensive prowess more than ever with players that have extensive injury history.

Cleveland cannot expect Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, and other aging guards to suddenly become lockdown isolation and pick-and-roll defenders. I’m not saying they have to be, either, but they will need Jae Crowder and James to supply the help needed when penetration happens. That’s even more apparent when Tristan Thompson is not on the floor, and even when he is, the Cavs will still be very vulnerable in the paint due to lack of size and shot-blocking.

I know the offensive possibilities are endless with Kevin Love starting at the five, as our own Jared Hesketh suggested, but James will need to play more down low on D to help Love (a non-factor in rim-protection), out. This season, the Cavs must have James occasionally guarding bigs. Especially when Love is at center and Thompson is not in the ball game.

Although he didn’t do it a ton, LeBron is more than capable of playing in that role, whether it’s against face-up or post-up bigs. Our own Quenton Albertie demonstrated how the King was effective defending in the paint even as a natural wing defender, due to his incredible strength and polished defensive footwork.

James placed in the 84th percentile in post-up defense last season, per Synergy. That could help Cleveland’s defensive rebounding, too, as James was second on the Cavs in defensive rebounds per game last year. In addition, the Cavs could have more versatility with Crowder or Jeff Green on wings, James defending post-up fours or even some fives, and J.R. Smith, Rose, Channing Frye and Wade having less isolation responsibility while guarding spot-ups more.

That’s an easier role for those older players in a long, grueling season that will likely produce some unfortunate injuries, and rotational pieces better suited as team defenders in Kyle Korver and Cedi Osman can provide some help against cutters.

If Crowder or Green can guard wings throughout the course of games, James can defend quality wings or primary ball-handlers in crucial possessions, especially in the playoffs.

In those situations, I’ll take my chances with the IQ of LeBron to be on point with this technique. That said, he can’t guard opposing wings for the entirety of games. He will have too much of a workload, and the Cavs will not be able to help as well against penetration in the paint.

Moreover, if Cleveland is going to play big on D, they need James to be fresher down the stretch of games. If he can play more on the interior and help out K-Love, Frye and TT in the process, he’ll be able to go back to his natural defensive position guarding wings or the best primary ball-handlers when it matters most in crucial stretches.

He got the better of DeMar DeRozan in last year’s playoffs, and that was key to the Cavs getting big leads at home and getting stops on the road in crunch time. All in all, the King’s defense must be at its best if the Cavs can get back to being champions once again. James will play better after an underwhelming year on D in 2016-17, because he has more players who can initiate their own offense this season.