Playoff Picture: Cleveland Cavaliers
By Luke Duffy
Go To Guy
LeBron James
There will probably come a time when James is not the go to guy on this team anymore, and it’s closer now than it’s ever been before. But that time is not now. There’s not much more than can be said. If you’re reading this, you know what he’s about and have known for years. We take his otherworldly talents for granted these days, merely accepting his output on the court as standard. For a 30-year-old guy to do that is damn impressive.
Statistically though, it hasn’t been his best year. A mix of age, niggling injuries and adapting to new surroundings have surely played a part. You may say they’re excuses and maybe they are, because there was no escaping that he didn’t look himself for a while out there. That’s changed, and he’s back playing that brand of team basketball that helped elevate the Miami Heat to greatness.
He sits seventh in the league in assists per game (7.3), the only player who isn’t a guard in the top 10 (Every other player except James Harden, in eighth, is a point guard, although Harden has a lot of point duties these days like James). That in itself is impressive, but being able to also score 25.6 points per contest, despite some early season wobbles, should also put the rest of the league on alert. He’s won before, he absolutely wants to win one now for Cleveland, so he should be a man to be feared heading into the playoffs.
Next: Rounding Into Form At The Right Time