Cleveland Cavaliers: I’m Thankful For Father Time Not Applying To LeBron James
By Dan Gilinsky
LeBron James is proving that for the 58,000th time, he’s a different breed, and it’s paying off for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are starting to come together, as they’ve won six straight games. It’s been the typical, “give LeBron a month, and he’ll figure it out” scenario, and things are moving in the right direction. Throughout this season, LeBron has proven that he’ll always be the de facto MVP of the Association. Sorry, Kyrie Irving.
The King is messing around, and averaging 28.6 points, 8.3 assists, and 7.3 rebounds per contest. He’s not appeared to lose a step on the offensive end, and although it’s only been a small sample, there’s no reason he can’t keep having the highest field goal percentage of his career, at 58.5 percent.
To put that into perspective, James is ninth among qualified players in the NBA in field goal percentage, and he’s the only non-interior player in the top ten of that metric, per Basketball Reference. It’s not as if he’s only dunking the ball or shooting short jump-hooks, like the other players ahead of him.
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James is shooting the lights out of the ball from three-point land, as he’s making the most three’s per game of his career (1.9) and shooting his highest percentage from deep in his storied career, at 42.7 percent. As a result, James is trailing only budding star Giannis Antetokounmpo in efficiency so far this season among qualified players, per nba.com. Again, that’s in his15th season.
He is also second to only James Harden in win shares, box plus-minus, offensive box plus-minus. He’s also tied with Harden in leading the NBA in the value over replacement player metric. James is also the reason teammate Kyle Korver is fourth in the Association in offensive rating and third in true shooting percentage, again, per nba.com. The chemistry between those two have been crucial in late-game situations, and it’s a sight to see when James or Dwyane Wade whip dimes to Korver in both halfcourt sets and in transition.
However, it’s not as if James is not having his share of scoring heroics in the fourth quarter, as he’s leading the league in fourth-quarter scoring, per nba.com. KJG’s own Jackson Flickinger broke down how dominant he was when it mattered most against the Brooklyn Nets in the Cavs’ last game, as Bron poured in 23 points in the fourth quarter, and 18 of the last 25 points for Cleveland.
His clutch-shot making has been crucial in late-game situations, and when that three is falling, Bron is a human cheat code. This year, he’s been connecting on 42.9 percent of his fourth-quarter treys, which is a key part of his arsenal when he gets switchouts against slower bigs or smaller wings who can’t contest well.
James is the key reason the Cavs are third in the league in team isolation efficiency and true shooting percentage, per Synergy. Without Kyrie and still without Isaiah Thomas, James is ensuring Cleveland’s offense is still operating at a high clip. He’s getting all his compliment of weapons’ involved, and he’s doing a great job of knowing when to pick his spots to attack as well.
It’s not like James is doing things that much differently; he’s just proving yet again that he is a force that has no limits in year 15.
On pace for arguably the most efficient year of his career on a team that is shorthanded, the King is what I’m thankful for this year. And hopefully it’s that way for more years to come in the Land.