LeBron James: Cavaliers Suffering From His Lackluster Play

LeBron James’ lackluster play is a huge part of the reason the Cleveland Cavaliers find themselves two games down so far in the NBA Finals.

There are entirely too many questions and too many fingers to be pointed in wake of the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ 2-0 deficit in this year’s NBA Finals.

The Cavaliers went down without a fight once again Sunday night, losing by 33 points to the Golden State Warriors after getting beaten by 15 in Game 1.

Once again, the Warriors won convincingly without stellar performances from either of the Splash Brothers, as the sharpshooters combined for only 35 of the team’s 110 points.

So who deserves the blame?

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It could go to supporting stars

Kyrie Irving

and

Kevin Love

, who put up a combined 15 points on 7-of-21 shooting and are averaging an abysmal 29 combined points for the series.

It could also be directed at a supporting cast that is getting thoroughly outplayed by that of the Warriors, with the brunt of the fault falling to the likes of disappearing act J.R. Smith (four points a game on a combined nine shots) and the faltering Tristan Thompson (a measly eight points and five rebounds).

However, as in all things, it starts with the leader and despite playing the best ball of anyone on his team, LeBron James can’t escape the blame here either.

Jun 5, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts during the third quarter against the Golden State Warriors in game two of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

The King is averaging 21.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game through two contests — numbers that would be considered solid by most standards.

But this is LeBron James we’re talking about. You know, the guy who put up 73 points by himself in the first two games of last year’s Finals and averaged 35.8 points, 13.3 boards, and 8.8 dimes for the series.

Plus, that near triple-double he’s averaging currently looks a lot less glamorous when you consider the fact that he’s missed 22 of the 38 shots he’s taken and has committed 11 turnovers in the first two games.

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In many ways, the Cavaliers’ nonchalant demeanor and lax efforts in these first two games are a direct reflection of King James himself.

In contrast to the attack mode, do-it-all-myself LeBron we’re all used to seeing this time of year, we’ve seen a much more lax, less assertive version of James in the first two games.

This James is reluctant to take over the game in the dominant, physical fashion he has in the past and is instead settling for flat mid-range jumpers and forcing the issue trying to get teammates who are incredibly out of it involved.

In addition, James — who is arguably the best slasher that’s ever played the game — has only attempted eight free throws through the first two games as compared to 28 free throw attempts through the first two contests of last year’s Finals.

In all honesty, he hasn’t looked this withdrawn since the 2011 Finals against the Dallas Mavericks and you know how that went.

A withdrawn, reluctant and lax LeBron is not going to lead this ragtag bunch of Cavaliers — or any other team, for that matter — to a championship.

Yes, a great deal of the blame can go to the lack of production from his fellow stars or the absolute absence of the team’s role players, but they’re all looking to James to set the tone for how they go about their business.

The team ball, three-point barrage game plan worked well in the Eastern Conference, but it’s hard to beat the defending champions with the very thing that they do best.

More hoops habit: 25 Most Dominant Individual Games In NBA History

The Cavaliers’ lone advantage in this series is that they have arguably the best player in the world on their side — he just needs to start playing like it.

2016 NBA Finals: Where In The World Is LeBron James?

By Carter Johnson | Jun 7, 2016

LeBron James’ lackluster play is a huge part of the reason the Cleveland Cavaliers find themselves two games down so far in the NBA Finals.

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