King James Gospel
Fansided

Why being a huge underdog is a huge advantage for LeBron James and these Cleveland Cavaliers

By Duane Rohrbacher

CLEVELAND, OH - MAY 25: Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James (23) reacts after hitting a three-point shot late in the game over the Celtics Jayson Tatum (not pictured) to give Cleveland a 107-96 lead, on their way to a 109-99 victory. The Boston Celtics visited the Cleveland Cavaliers for Game Six of their NBA Eastern Conference Finals playoff series at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH on May 25, 2018. (Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - MAY 25: Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James (23) reacts after hitting a three-point shot late in the game over the Celtics Jayson Tatum (not pictured) to give Cleveland a 107-96 lead, on their way to a 109-99 victory. The Boston Celtics visited the Cleveland Cavaliers for Game Six of their NBA Eastern Conference Finals playoff series at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH on May 25, 2018. (Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
BOSTON, MA – MAY 27: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers reacts during Game Seven of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on May 27, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – MAY 27: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers reacts during Game Seven of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on May 27, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

The NBA is all about momentum

Believe it or not but two people used advanced statistics and proved that there is a “momentum effect” in the NBA. 

Without going into too much detail, this means that NBA teams actually carry momentum, not only within games but also game-to-game. All it takes is one 12-2 run to finish a game and lead to a victory to turn a series from down 2-0 to up 3-2. LeBron James tends to have momentum on his side more often than not in critical situations.

In this article, Kobe Bryant discusses LeBron’s physical inertia, e.g., the momentum he has when driving to his left but we see it often happen when Bron makes a huge defensive play.

In the last few years, it’s been a LeBron block that sparks the victory. Whether it’s “the block” or the Terry Rozier slap away in Game 7 against the Celtics, LeBron’s defense seems to spark offense in others.

What kind of momentum shifts could we see in Game 1 at Oracle Arena?

For one, LeBron likely will guard Draymond Green on defense, meaning that he will be able to play off Green often. That means that when someone like Steph Curry or Kevin Durant drives to the hoop, LeBron could be there to swat something away.

These types of plays especially ignite LeBron’s cast of three-point shooters. While JR Smith has played horribly in these playoffs and Kyle Korver has simply played not often enough, those two guys specifically can go en fuego at a moment’s notice.

If Jordan Clarkson (someone else who also can get hot) lights up at the same time as Korver or Smith, the Cavaliers have a three-point raining version of the Warriors with an all-world driver ready to drive and kick to open shooters.