LeBron James May Have Accidentally Rediscovered His True Calling

There was a time — circa 2008 — when almost everyone from casual fans to their NBA peers believed that Kobe Bryant was still the best player on the planet, even though every metric, and his sheer dominance on the court, suggested that LeBron James had prematurely surpassed the Black Mamba.

Kobe diehards would defend his throne with an unremitting conviction — citing his handful of NBA championship rings and his ballerina-like footwork as the basis of their faith in Bean.

However, LeBron’s physical supremacy gave him a sizable advantage over everyone in the association during that time; including Bryant, who had seen his peak athleticism dwindle as he approached the age of 30.

James’ combination of power, speed, agility, and vision was unmatched, and his ability to enforce his premier athletic gifts, on both ends of the floor, made the King the most impactful player in the league. The eye test showed it; the numbers confirmed it.

Fast forward to present day, and an eerily similar sentiment clouds LeBron’s half-a-decade stranglehold on the title as the planet’s baddest player.

Specifically, for two consecutive seasons, LeBron’s level of play has diminished significantly; and more notably, both Kevin Durant last year and Anthony Davis this year captured the claim as the best regular season performer. Even the current reigning MVP, Stephen Curry, and runner-up, James Harden, could make a substantial case that, not only have they had an overall better campaign than LeBron, but they have also surpassed him in terms of impact.

Like No Other

Since entering the league in 2003, LeBron has always made it his personal mission to do things differently. He wanted to control all aspects of his life — on and off the court.

Off the court, James would start his own marketing and sports agency; and meanwhile, on the court, he refused to conform to the hero-ball standards set forth by his predecessor who donned an akin No. 23 in Michael Jordan.

In an era where everyone wanted to be like Mike, LeBron was more like Magic. At a time where a slew of handsomely paid retired athletes went bankrupt, James was slowly building his own financial empire.

As ESPN college basketball analyst and NBA Draft expert Jay Bilas was once quoted as saying, LeBron was like the high school kid who had the knowledge of a college graduate.

Of course, LeBron was/is a physical specimen unlike any other — he’s built like Karl Malone, has the straight line speed of an Allen Iverson, and can jump out of the gym like James White. He’s the quintessential preeminent athlete.

However, James is also a student of the game. He has seen the disrespect that guys like Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing get for not winning a ring; and conversely, the unconditional universal praise that Hakeem Olajuwon and Michael Jordan receive for winning multiple championships.

For such reasons, in conjunction with his rebellious, trailblazing nature, he would do the unthinkable during the summer of 2010 — abandon his home state to famously take his talents to South Beach and join forces with two other surefire top-10 players.

Living Up To The Hype

The vitriol that LeBron collects — through the national media, social media, etc. — on a daily basis is often palpable. People despise him for the way he left Cleveland; for his, at times, corny personality; his insecurities regarding his hairline; the way he eradicated the competitive balance of the NBA — the list goes on and on.

Through all of his much-maligned shortcomings, however, LeBron has generally lived up to the hype.

Never in our lifetime — driven in large part by the advent of the digital and mass media age — have we seen a high schooler receive the amount of undue hype as James did during his days at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School.

But from day one, he erased any inclinations of him being merely a product of the hype machine by pouring in 25 points, grabbing six rebounds, and dishing out nine assists in his first NBA game — in a nationally-televised contest, no less.

He would proceed to eclipse every other expectation placed in front of him thereafter — averaging 20-5-5 en route to winning the Rookie of the Year, putting up a staggering 27-7-7 the following season, and leading his team to the playoffs in his third campaign while dropping 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in his first ever playoff game.

What about in 2007, when he single-handedly pushed an unqualified Cleveland Cavaliers team past the veteran-laden Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals — as he poured in 48-points (including his team’s final 25 points and 29 of its final 30) in Game 5 with the series tied at 2-2?

Or how about the time he forced a stacked Boston Celtics team to the brink of elimination in 2008, as he once again captured the imaginations of the entire NBA universe by putting up 45-5-6 in an instant classic Game 7 loss to the hands of the Cs that postseason?

The Pressure Of Being A Favorite

When placed in a position of power, though, LeBron has shown a tendency of crumbling under weighted pressure of being a clear-cut favorite.

More explicitly, once the aspirations of his Cleveland Cavaliers squad evolved from “happy to be here” into “championship-or-bust,” James would slowly unveil his ultimate kryptonite.

While he more than did his part during the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals, averaging a mind-numbing 38-8-8 for the series, the Cavs did fall to the surging Orlando Magic despite being a heavy favorite. The subsequent year, Bron Bron would suffer a mysterious elbow injury during the playoffs, and his No. 1 seeded Cavs would yet again be ousted by the underdog — this time in the conference semis against the dreaded Celtics.

After collaborating with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, the Chosen One did not help his stained depiction as a player who shrinks when the lights are the brightest, especially when his “stacked” Miami Heat team fell to the lovable Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals.

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More alarmingly, James was no where to be found during the fourth quarters and deciding moments of their losses; instead, giving way to Wade to lead them out of their incubus doldrums.

The Heat would realize their manifest destiny by capturing back-to-back titles the two following seasons, but the team would always befuddlingly inject unwarranted stress upon themselves — getting pushed to do-or-die situations against less-talented teams in the Celtics in 2012 and the Indiana Pacers in 2013.

To LeBron’s credit, when his back was up against the wall, the King usually delivered a classic, career-defining performance (see: Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals).

But, when the Heat finally faced a laudable opponent in the last year’s finals against the San Antonio Spurs, they would falter under their counterpart’s avalanche of team play, and crumbled in five.

The King’s Mixed Blessing

Last summer, James would follow suit on his penchant of breaking his own distinctive ground by abnegating the team he had went to four straight Finals with, and going back “home” to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

He would take with him the same blueprint that had brought him much of his playoff success; explicitly, by teaming with another dynamic ball-in-hand playmaking guard, in Kyrie Irving, and a floor stretching 20-and-10 big in Kevin Love.

In his second tour of duty with the Cavs, James has enjoyed the consummate freedom — he plays the way he wants to play (specifically, as a point forward), and the players he wants to play with. He does not need to conform to Pat Riley‘s “culture” or Erik Spoelstra’s pace-and-space style, nor does he have to play the four and unwillingly bang down low with players like David West and Brandon Bass.

But in a bewildering turn of events, the Big 3 model he had so adamantly wanted to adhere to has dissipated right before his eyes. With both Kyrie and Love out with injuries, LeBron finds himself in a familiar territory — serving as the Big One for the Cavs, and more interestingly, playing as an underdog.

Rediscovering His True Calling

This incumbent rendition of the Cavaliers are, in many ways, the 2015 version of the 2001 Philadelphia 76ers — a team that surrounds their central offensive figure with an army of gritty, high-motor defensive savants who have the ability to make the occasional offensive play when put in the right position.

Cleveland has morphed from a “your turn, my turn” iso-centric offense-dependent team, to an absolute defensive juggernaut almost overnight.

While the Love injury has turned the Cavs offense into even more of an archaic isolation fest, the insertion of Tristan Thompson into the starting lineup has catapulted their defense into an elite stratosphere.

Contrary to popular opinion, head coach, David Blatt, was never known as an “offensive guru” in Europe; and his famed Princeton offense did not serve as the root to his teams’ monumental success. Conversely, Blatt was a renowned defensive strategist — famous for taking down the goliaths of Euroleague with a group of less-heralded players (sound familiar?).

For some odd reason — maybe it’s his quirky, methodical personality — pundits have been quick to put the blame on the first-year head man whenever things have gone awry for the Cavs this season. Moreover, talking heads have been steadfast in their attempt to escalate the abstract LeBron and Blatt feud.

Like him or not, however, coach Blatt deserves a lot of the credit for Cleveland’s fine play during their ongoing postseason run. After a few hiccups over the course of the 82-game regular season, Blatt has shown time and time again to be a fine NBA head coach.

Save for calling a phantom timeout, Blatt has been absolutely sensational with his in-game management and game-by-game adjustments. The Cavaliers’ scheme to go under on Jeff Teague pick-and-rolls have worked superfluously thus far — especially with Matthew Dellavedova hounding the point.

In particular, Delly has done an exemplary job at moving his feet, anticipating, and blocking off Teague’s attempts to shift into sixth gear. His discipline in not biting on Teague’s bevy of ball/shot fakes and stick-to-itiveness has frustrated the Hawks’ All-Star point guard, en route to forcing him to a 5-of-16 shooting night in Game 2.

The aforementioned increased dose of Tristan Thompson has also given the Cavs the luxury of sagging back, clogging the driving lanes, and packing the paint, as TT has the prerequisite foot speed to show help, while recovering quickly enough to bother Al Horford‘s or Paul Millsap‘s midrange attempts. When sliding over to the five, Thompson has been equally as electrifying, showcasing his bounce, energy, and defensive acumen in protecting the rim.

The emergence of their defensive stalwarts — namely, Dellavedova, Thompson, as well as Iman Shumpert, another lockdown perimeter defender — has allowed LeBron to play rover on defense; providing help to the helper and switching out to the ballhandler when needed.  The trio has also masks James’ tendency to take the occasional defensive play off; either, gambling for a steal and recovering halfheartedly, or letting his man embarrass him with a simple backdoor cut.

Sure enough, the Cavs house the league’s best defense since the commencement of the 2015 playoffs, conceding only 98.1 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com. More interestingly, with Kyrie and Love out, their defensive rating during the postseason improves to 90.6, according to NBAWowy!.

Without the services of Love and a healthy Kyrie, however, their offense is predictably not as stout — at least that is what the eye-test indicates. But, with LeBron dominating almost all of Cleveland’s possessions, the Cavaliers offense has actually performed better when two-thirds of their “Big 3” are sidelined.

Excluding the fourth quarter of Game 1 against the Atlanta Hawks, where a pressuring Paul Millsap seduced LeBron to play a caveman brand of mano-a-mano basketball, the Cavs’ offense has generally played to Bron Bron’s strengths — letting him playmake with the ball in his hands.

Let’s face it, when Kyrie — or Wade, the years prior — is running a pick-and-roll or operating in an isolation set, LeBron is often times useless. He’s an atrocious off-ball player.  Aside from the rare cut down the middle of lane, when Kyrie is doing his “thing”, James is usually spectating from 35-feet out, right beside the coach’s box, either, blowing air into his closed fist or stretching out his smedium-sized jersey.

Coincidentally, James has been forced to do a lot of the things he did not voluntarily want to do as a member of the Heat; play on the block, at the four, and tussle with opposing bigs.

But James understands that by sliding to the power forward position, and thereby, playing alongside three shooters and a big, he has the spacing he needs to pick apart teams, either, attacking through the pinch post, or operating as the ballhandler in the spread pick-and-roll.

Is the offense a work of art? Far from it. Is it effective enough to get by with their upper-echelon D, however? Yes (see Game 3 versus the Hawks, when the Cavs hung in tough despite James starting the game shooting 0-for-10).

In fact, in Game 2, LeBron curated 1.54 points per drive, per NBA.com’s SportVU Data; where he assisted on 15 percent of said drives, by having the floor stretched, attacking the seams, making the defense bend, before delivering a pass to a spot-up shooter.

You pair LeBron’s individual offensive greatness, along with the Cavs’ offensive rebounding prowess; you get a functional and sustainable offense.

The King may not be the forceful specimen he once was during his peak years — specifically, from 2009-2013 — but given the current disposition of the Cavaliers, it may allow LeBron to recapture the best player crown.

His days of pouring in 27-plus points on 64-plus percent TS% (true shooting percentage) are over, especially when taking into account the hands-on style he so desperately wants to play; but there is no shame in shooting 37 shots when you’re putting up 37 points, grabbing 18 rebounds, while still finding time to dish out 13 assists (as he did in Game 3).

Looking down the road, Cleveland is on a likely collision course with the Golden State Warriors. All signs point to a potential bloodbath, as the Warriors’ advanced schemes should, in theory, annihilate the Cavs’ primitive philosophies.

But, playing without pressure and expectations; with the intent of proving the doubters wrong? That may be the inadvertent preferred winning environment for LeBron James. Capturing the title with an undermanned team? That may be the Chosen One’s true calling.

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