Cleveland Cavaliers Struggle Again Without LeBron James
The Cleveland Cavaliers lose another game without LeBron James, dropping a 123-109 decision to the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.
It’s our old friends Jekyll and Hyde again.
No, I’m not talking about the book. It’s the Cleveland Cavaliers, as usual. They were on a four-game winning streak and looked like they were finally getting into playoff mode. However, this was happening with LeBron James on the floor. The Cavaliers are now 1-4 without James and a combined 4-14 in the two seasons that he’s been back in Cleveland.
The one win barely happened only because of a smart play by Kyrie Irving on Dirk Nowitzki against the Dallas Mavericks on March 16. If not for time running out, Deron Williams hit a wide open three-point shot off a C-cut which would have resulted in another heartbreaking loss.
You don’t have to know sports or basketball to understand that isn’t good.
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When the Cavaliers acquired Kevin Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves to put along with Irving and James, It was likely assumed if James–knocks on wood–got injured or were to miss games due to rest, Irving and Love would be able to continue playing at a high level.
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The 25 points per game that James has averaged over the last two seasons was supposed to be easily duplicated with the talent of both–and while it has–it’s only been good enough for four victories. Is it more about the impact that James makes on a team or about Irving and Love underachieving? I think it has to do with both.
A lot of fans believed that the maturation process of both players would be accelerated as it was with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. But the obvious difference there was Wade had prior championship experience and Bosh had been to the playoffs at least twice.
They all had the same mindset which was to win multiple championships (not one, not two, not …). They didn’t care about their individual “brand.” It was about making adjustments to their game and winning.
That attitude and will has yet to be seen by this Cavaliers team. Having 21-point leads and blowing them or just getting annihilated at home–or on the road–will not win championships.
An example of this was Wednesday against the Indiana Pacers. From start to finish, the Cavaliers were outmatched outside of a couple of runs. Last month’s win in Indiana that broke a six-year drought on the road against the Pacers seemed like a distant memory compared to this game.
Monta Ellis and Paul George got any shot they wanted, whether it was on the perimeter or through dribble penetration.
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But the biggest player for the Pacers was Solomon Hill. The Cavaliers tend to make bench players look like All-Stars and it has hurt them. Hill is only averaging 3.4 points per game this season and averages 5.8 points per game for his career.
He scored 15 against them on Wednesday.
In all, it was a game they should throw away and never look at again. The Pacers shot an astounding 56.2 percent from the field and 51.6 percent from three-point range.
The Cavaliers shot 47.3 percent from the field and only 27.6 percent from the perimeter. They are starting to have that old “live by the three, die by the three” mentality and they just aren’t that kind of team. They must have ball movement in order to sustain success, and it has been a struggle for them consistently.
Love started out on fire, scoring 21 first-half points, but only managed to score three in the second half. He left in the middle of the third quarter with back spasms. The Cavaliers only have three more games left of the season.
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Fans are truly hoping that James doesn’t get “rest” anymore and that they find some sort of consistency going into the first round, unless it is too late.