Are the Cavs better than LeBron for the first time ever?

Are the Cavs better than LeBron: The verdict

Let’s start with the case for the Lakers. For all that their roster is poorly assembled, their star big man was ice cold until he went down with an extended injury and they are giving copious minutes and touches to a downright damaging point guard…there is a way to squint and see a contender.

A healthy Lakers team has a shot to shake free from all of this mess (of their own making, primarily) and put a scare in opponents in the playoffs. LeBron James has earned that much respect.

That infinitesimal chance of contention is the only area where the Lakers have an advantage. The Cavs have been brilliant this season, playing at a rate significantly better than the Lakers. They are too young with too glaring a hole on the wing to realistically contend, but their floor is multiple stories higher than the Lakers.

What’s brilliant is that the Cavs’ core is all incredibly young, so the trajectory is pointed straight up from here. That doesn’t mean next season they will be the title favorites, but the future is bright. The Lakers? Not so much, with Westbrook and James aging and the cast of characters likely to turn over around them.

Evan Mobley isn’t LeBron James, and it’s not fair to rest those expectations on his slim shoulders. Yet he is the best prospect this team has had since LeBron, and if we are laying out title odds for the next five seasons…you have to give the advantage to the Cavs over LeBron. Unless, of course, those two become one once more.

For the first time since drafting LeBron James in 2003, the Cleveland Cavaliers are a better team than wherever LeBron is playing. After years in the basement while James won in Miami and Los Angeles the time is now for the Cavs to show the league they can be something great.