King James Gospel
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Cleveland Cavaliers: What we learned vs. Washington Wizards

By Jackson Flickinger

WASHINGTON, DC -  NOVEMBER 3: LeBron James
WASHINGTON, DC -  NOVEMBER 3: LeBron James /
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WASHINGTON, DC –  NOVEMBER 3: Derrick Rose #1 of the Cleveland Cavaliers handles the ball against the Washington Wizards on November 3, 2017 at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC –  NOVEMBER 3: Derrick Rose #1 of the Cleveland Cavaliers handles the ball against the Washington Wizards on November 3, 2017 at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Derrick Rose continues to show flashes of brilliance. 

Rose started out the game playing great. He did a good job of getting to the basket, attacking in transition, and even hitting open jumpers. Rose went into the half with 18 points on 7 of 8 shooting. Unfortunately, he couldn’t keep his impressive play going. Rose contributed only 2 points in the second half on 1 of 7 shooting.

Rose’s ability to attack the basket has been impressive. However, he appears to press sometimes and attack when it isn’t in the flow of the offense. That’s what happened in the second half. Instead of letting the game come to him, he tried to force it himself.

Friday was only his fifth game in a Cavs’ uniform. He’s still getting used to playing with the starters. He’s looked good at times, and worse at others. However, there are signs that he can make a positive contribution to this team.

LeBron is still the king. 

The Wizards came into this one thinking that they were the best team in the East, but James thought otherwise. He broke their will by seemingly telling them that the road to the Finals still goes through Cleveland.

James has had some phenomenal games in his career, but not many were better than this one. LeBron surgically dismantled everything the Wizards threw at him accounting for 78 total points. It was an all-time performance from one of the best to ever do it.

It’s crazy to see just how dominant LeBron still is even though he’s in his fifteenth year in the league. He became only the second player to ever score 55 or more points this late in their careers.

James may be the greatest basketball player we’ve ever seen, and he doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. Even though the Cavs are still somewhat of a mess on the basketball court, it doesn’t matter when number 23 is on your team. He still can cover up a multitude of deficiencies.

Must Read: 3 reasons the Cleveland Cavaliers should target Jahlil Okafor

The Cavs will look to keep their good play going against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday afternoon. The Hawks are one of the worst teams in the league, but you never know which version of the Cavs you’re going to get on a given night.