Photo: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
A Slower LeBron, Easier Title Path
By Jesse Blanchard
LeBron James continues to own
the Eastern Conference like no
other player since Michael Jordan,
representing the conference in the
NBA Finals in each of the past five
seasons. But at long last, LeBron
is showing signs of something
his physique and game seemed
impervious to—he’s slowing down.
Mind you , a diminished James
still rates better than everyone else at
their peak; though the gap is closing.
The Cavaliers are favored to win the
NBA Championship this season,
which is a nod to James’ status as
the world’s best player and the easier
path his team will have en route
to the NBA Finals in the Eastern
Conference. Last year, James showed
how much he’d grown during his
stint in Miami, carrying an injurydepleted roster with less talent than
his 2007 team to two Finals victories
against the Golden State Warriors in
a surprisingly competitive series.
Cleveland returns the same
team, adding a steadier backup point
guard with some scoring pop in
Mo Williams and ending a contract
stalemate with Tristan Thompson—
who showed tremendous chemistry
with James during Kevin Love’s
injury-related absence in the playoffs.
But operating in the same manner,
with heavy doses of isolations and
reliance on James won’t work as well
in the early going. With injuries to
Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert, the
Cavaliers will have to find ways to
better incorporate Kevin Love and
find easier baskets, lest they exhaust
James too early in the season.
The Cavaliers talent and
conference affords them time to
experiment, and the chemistry
developed over the course of a year
should prevent an early swoon
similar to last season—when James
had to take two weeks off to kick start
his body. The subtle decline of his
athleticism is hardly a surprise, given
the workload he’s taken in each of the
last two years.
Miami’s roster aged terribly
around James, and the Cavaliers
needed his best while they learned
how to work together. But if Chris
Bosh and Dwyane Wade proved to
be better fits alongside a physically
superior version of LeBron, the
current iteration of the Cavaliers is
as deep and talented as any he’s been
privy to.
Since returning to Cleveland,
the mandate has been clear and
simple—championship or bust. James
is no stranger to shouldering such
enormous expectations, and after
giving his hometown team a taste of
their second NBA Finals, the natives
are restlessly anticipating that longelusive title. When healthy, Cleveland
has everything they need to oblige.
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