The Cleveland Cavaliers have been a one-man show for most of this postseason, and Brad Stevens must figure out a way to put that to an end.
In the Eastern Conference Finals, two great minds will meet. One is on the sidelines for the Boston Celtics and the other in uniform for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Much of this series will be a mind game between Brad Stevens and LeBron James.
For Stevens, he must figure out a way to slow down the four-time MVP.
The task is much easier said than done.
For James, there are three board aspects of his game that make him impossible to guard.
To start, James’ ability to shoot from deep makes him impossible to sag on.
Players like Ben Simmons struggle to beat you from the perimeter so playing off him a few feet can be beneficial in defending the team’s other weapons. While James has shot just 29% from deep, he’s certainly capable of knocking down the deep ball.
James explosiveness and strength combine to be the second reason that James is virtually unguardable. He can blow by a defender that plays too close and can post a smaller defender like Jaylen Brown potentially could be.
Thirdly, James vision is the final piece in his offensive arsenal. James has averaged 9.0 assists per game and is a dynamic half-court distributor. James vision is the main reason teams are unable to double him.
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To recap, teams can’t double the King, and they can ‘t switch screens, sag on screens, or allow any type of one-on-one play. That said, what’s Brad Stevens’ best bet at slowing the King down? In my opinion, it’s through sending several different looks at him each and every quarter.
During the two team’s three regular-season matchups, Stevens opted to guard James with a combination of Marcus Morris and Jaylen Brown. Brown is a more athletic defender that stands 6-foot-7 while Morris is a thicker, more powerful defender that stands 6-foot-9.
Thanks to NBA.com’s new tracker, we can see how these two players each defended LeBron.
The numbers are quite similar. Both players allowed James to shoot 50% or better and both were the Celtics only defenders to guard James for over 25 possessions. However, James does shoot 30% worse from three when defended by Brown, most likely due to his ability to recover and get back to contest James.
A surprising third potential defender comes into play with Al Horford. Horford defended James for three possessions but allowed just one bucket. Horford, who’s proven to be one of the league’s best two-way bigs, should get a crack at James.
Hear me out here too.
Stevens needs to keep James, Lue, and the entire Cleveland Cavaliers roster on edge. So while Brown, Morris, and Horford all may be potential defenders, the best option for Stevens might be not to solely stick one of them on James.
With James basketball IQ, he’ll quickly learn how to break them down, but after several possessions pass by, could James struggle to shift his mindset every other possession? It’s a reach, but it’s one of the only ways I’ve yet to see implemented successfully. To add on to that, Boston might be one of the few teams to have the gritty type of defender to pull it off too.
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There’s no slowing James down. I repeat: There is no slowing LeBron James down. But, Stevens has to find a way to try. He has to find a way to limit the King and to keep Lue on edge with several different looks every quarter might be the way to go.