There are many both in the NBA and outside of it that believe it is necessary to have a top-level point guard capable of balancing the offense and creating for both himself and for his teammates in order to contend for a championship.
Luckily for the Cleveland Cavaliers, they happen to have a player that can do these things and more while on the floor.
Wait, it’s not Kyrie Irving?
No, it’s actually LeBron James.
Now some will try and argue that James could never be considered a true point guard because he is a wing player at heart. James’ size and athleticism give him an advantage over pretty much any other shooting guard or small forward in the league, and he has always been a natural three at the pro level.
However, the Cavaliers are at their best when the ball is in James’ hands.
Irving has played point guard all his life, as he seems to be the most effective while the ball is in his hands. While that may be true in terms of him being an elite scorer, Irving has never been a consistent passer for Cleveland.
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Irving has averaged 5.8 assists per game for his career, which is not that bad of a number, but he has also been known to take his fair share of shots, some questionable, while on the floor as well. Irving is not a natural passer like many other floor generals, and while scoring point guards are seeming to be a thing in the future, it is still important to have a point guard who has a great feel for the game and makes others around him better.
Irving hasn’t proven yet that he can truly make his teammates better, given the Cavaliers’ lack of success since he was drafted. Sure, Irving has lacked a talented supporting cast around him, but stars are set to higher standards, and Irving has not gotten the job done as a true leader on the perimeter.
Meanwhile, James has had success in his career and has been a trusted and capable playmaker in high-pressure situations, including the NBA Finals.
So what makes James a better point guard than Irving? It all starts with his size.
As mentioned, James has a size advantage on almost every perimeter player in the league. Taking advantage of his size, James can see over the defense and make plays that many smaller guards cannot. When initiating the offense, James has court vision that can only be matched by a select view, and Irving is not in that league of passers just yet.
James is also a more natural and willing passer than Irving. James averages more assists per game in his career than Irving, and has been considered to be one of the best passers in the league despite him being a wing player. James doesn’t look to score first. Rather, he is all about making the right play, not taking the best shot.
James is second to none when it comes to being able to get inside the lane and wreak havoc. With his size, athleticism and court vision, there may be no player better at playing the kick-out game than James. There is a reason why the spread the floor with as many shooters as they could while James handled the ball. Drawing defenders towards him is an important strength of his, leaving teammates open for shots constantly. On this Cavaliers team, the biggest beneficiary from this could potentially be Irving himself.
Irving has always been a talented shooter from anywhere on the floor, and having the luxury of James getting him the ball anywhere he wants it is definitely something Irving should look to take advantage of more often.
With James being able to take over the point guard duties while putting some serious pressure of his own on the defense, it takes the pressure off of Irving to be something that he really isn’t. Letting Irving go out and be a scoring machine will benefit the Cavaliers in the long run because Irving’s separation and shot creation skills aren’t matched by any other player in the NBA outside of Russell Westbrook. When Irving has the green light to be a scorer, he becomes a totally different player, one who is a threat to score at any given moment at any spot on the floor.
James has taken over more often as point guard lately for Cleveland, and the results have spoken for themselves. The ball has been moving a lot more effectively and Irving and Kevin Love have benefitted from the attention that James draws when he has many more opportunities to cause havoc inside.
No other team has a player like James that can be such an effective set-up man while being able to score the ball at will.
The Cavaliers need to keep using James as a point guard so they can maximize the talents of every player on the team.
*Statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference and ESPN.