King James Gospel
Fansided

Cleveland Cavaliers: A complete guide to the East NOT being weak

By Alishah Pearine

AUBURN HILLS, MI - NOVEMBER 19: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers practices his pre game ritual before a game against the Detroit Pistons on November 19, 2008 at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. 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 2008 NBAE (Photo by D. Lippitt/Einstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
AUBURN HILLS, MI - NOVEMBER 19: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers practices his pre game ritual before a game against the Detroit Pistons on November 19, 2008 at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. 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 2008 NBAE (Photo by D. Lippitt/Einstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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MIAMI, FL – MAY 30: LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat celebrates against the Indiana Pacers during Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Arena on May 30, 2014 in Miami, Florida. 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. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL – MAY 30: LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat celebrates against the Indiana Pacers during Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Arena on May 30, 2014 in Miami, Florida. 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. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images) /

LeBron James’ Consecutive NBA Finals Runs from 2010-17

Instead of breaking down each opponent LeBron played against from 2010-17, we’ll take a look at his most difficult opponents during his seven straight Finals runs.

2010-11 Playoff Run

Eastern Conference Semifinals: Boston Celtics

The only team that LeBron has constantly struggled with in the last three years has been Boston. The two times he’s played against them, he was eliminated and both times it felt as if it was just him against the Celtics. This time around it was different, he had his draftmates—stars in their own right—Wade and Bosh.

A series victory wasn’t just going to be given to the Heat team.

They had faced Boston four times prior to their playoff matchup and only won once against them. Even though their offense wasn’t at elite levels, their defense more than made up for it. They ended the year holding opponents to 91.1 points per game (1st in the league) and had a defensive rating of 100.3 (2nd in the league).

The Celtics had five guys average double-digit points, but Wade and LeBron proved to be too much. Combining for 58.2 points, 15 rebounds, and 8.4 assists and going on to win 4-1. People argue that age and attrition caught up with Boston, but Miami wasn’t any younger from an overall team standpoint. They were just hungrier.

Eastern Conference Finals: Chicago Bulls

The Bulls-Heat Eastern Conference Finals showdown was one everyone wanted to see. Would the youngest MVP, Derrick Rose, lead the Bulls to the Finals beating the 2x MVP LeBron James? The results would favor the Bulls, who were 3-0 against Miami in there three regular-season meetings. Bulls fans would famously refer to their “Bench Mob” when discussing reasons for why the Bulls were going to win.

Bulls finished the season off with a 62-20 record, had the best defensive rating in the league and even beat the Heat by 21 points in Game 1. Unfortunately for Chicago, LeBron, Wade, and Bosh proved to be too much, combining for 67.8 points, 22 rebounds, and 15.2 assists.

In LeBron’s first season with Miami, he faced the two best defensive teams in back to back series. Both the Celtics and Bulls had won 50+ games; both team’s fanbases talked as if their team was going to win the series, and both teams went down in 5 games. Instead of appreciating the greatness the Heat team displayed, people instead wanted to discuss how “young” and “inexperienced” Chicago was and how “old” Boston was.