Cleveland Cavaliers: Give LeBron shooters and get out of the way
This postseason, while the Cleveland Cavaliers haven’t always played their best, they’ve been significantly better when surrounding LeBron James with shooters.
There haven’t been many constants for the Cleveland Cavaliers this postseason, but one has been that LeBron and four shooters are better than any other lineup Cleveland can put on the court. However, that’s something we’ve learned about James throughout his entire career.
Last season, we saw player combinations of Channing Frye, Kyle Korver, and LeBron James thrive. This season, and more specifically this postseason, it’s been similar except with different snipers.
Throughout the Cavs first three games, the lineup of James, Korver, Love, Hill, and Smith has seen the most minutes for any five-man lineup. Along with a spike in minutes comes a spike in production. This lineup has produced a net rating of 30.1.
The only other five-man lineup to have seen over 5 minutes of action this postseason and have a positive net rating (+55.8) consists of LeBron James, Kevin Love, Rodney Hood, JR Smith, and Jordan Clarkson.
Those two lineups encompass the Cleveland Cavaliers top seven shooters, ranging from 2.3 triples per game to 1.1 per game (regular season averages). So, to be honest, the only thing we’ve learned here is something the coaching staff should’ve known all along.
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The issues come when we don’t implement what we’ve seen succeed. The Cavs have played a three-man combination of Green, Nance Jr., and Clarkson for 30 minutes in the three games, resulting in -26.6 net rating from that group. Adding a mediocre three-point shooter with two non-three-point threats isn’t a smart idea, and it’s hurt the Cavs.
LeBron has only sat for 33 minutes in these three games, and if Lue is going to force those type of minutes onto James, then he should be able to afford to keep the other four players that help James succeed in. It’s not just James who has succeeded those. Love, the Cavaliers clear second option, has been much better with multiple shooters on the court.
It’s the way the NBA, in general, is trending.
That’s why playing Jeff Green and Larry Nance Jr. both over 18 minutes per night hasn’t been the best strategy. It’s not how the Cavs are going to win this series. The Cavs bread and butter is obvious, and it’s not going to change between games.
This team was built to equip LeBron James with an arsenal to win another title, but it’s going to be up to Lue and the coaching staff to put that winning product on the court together. The product is there, but over half the battle is using it correctly.
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It’s in Lue’s hands now. Give James the shooters, and he’ll give you the wins.