The three greatest acquisitions for the Cavs at the trade deadline

“Rejuvenated” LeBron

James looks revitalized, no longer transparently vexed by his teammates on the court and playing with abundant energy in a role that requires that from him.

Quote from Hill transcribed by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin:

"“We have one of the best players in the history of the game, I’m sure he’s going to dictate the tempo and things like that,” Hill said. “We just got to do our job, be the best role players we can possibly be. He’s the Batman, and we got to be all Robins. We got to figure it out.”"

Now, with so many players capable of providing help on both ends of the court, James looks like he has energy to kill. That much was clear when he went out in the first quarter after Celtics center Aron Baynes ran into his quad muscle only to return and went on a scoring rampage.

James finished the game with 24 points while taking 20 shots from the field and getting to the line 7 times. He also had a steal and a block. It was his first time hitting all of those marks in a game since January 6th, a four-point win over the Orlando Magic in which they needed James’ every effort.

When James went out against the Celtics, the new Cavs held their own and were only down 32-31 after the first quarter. The Cavs took over the game in the second after James returned, outscoring the Celtics 33-20 before their third quarter (they outscored the Celtics 31-22) put the nail in the coffin for the boys in Boston.

James sat the entire fourth quarter, with the Cavs holding a healthy 22-point lead. He finished the game playing 28 minutes, while Osman and Smith played 29 minutes. That game against Orlando? James played 37 minutes with no other player playing more than 30.

The Cleveland Cavaliers now may be able to rest James and for that matter, a happier James is far more energetic anyways. Altman was certainly right when he said there would be a “rejuvenated” LeBron.

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