LeBron James: Atlas No More

By Joshua Howe | Oct 30, 2015

Oct 27, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) in a time out during the second half against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center. Chicago won 97-95. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports /

It’s been said before, but it needs to be said again because the cold hard reality is beginning to weigh down on the basketball universe: LeBron James didn’t sign up for this, and he needs help.

LeBron returned home from Miami because he saw opportunity where there was a lack of one in South Florida. Then, as quickly as it appeared, that opportunity momentarily vanished when he most required it. Just as the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Big 3 was beginning to mesh towards the end of the season, their chances of realistically winning a title went down the drain when both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love sustained injuries.

So what happened? LeBron put the team on his back, playing Atlas like we’ve seen him do so many times. He took a broken basketball team all the way to the Finals (his fifth straight year) and managed to somehow, against all logic, steal two games against a vastly superior club in the Golden State Warriors.

During this monumental effort, King James put up video game-type numbers against his toughest opponent ever. Despite his shooting, which was hampered by the fact that he was often going one-on-five, he recorded some of the greatest numbers in Finals history.

When it was all said and done, Cavs fans could rest a little easier knowing that LeBron had given them everything. He left it all out there; a performance so epic that he deserved to win Finals MVP. He wanted to win for Cleveland so badly that he drew on all of his basketball powers and unleashed them all at once.

Now, months later and a gleaming new season underway, we might finally be seeing tangible effects from that amazing, excruciating performance.

The Cavs have played two games to start the season, with a whatever record of 1-1. Love is back and playing (though he is still recovering). He is starting to look a little more like his old self again, which is good. Irving is still out, and is likely to be until at least December.

More from Cleveland Cavaliers

With injuries surrounding him, James is still being asked to do quite a bit. He had a good game against the Bulls in the season opener, though he was blocked by Pau Gasol on the game-tying attempt at the end of regulation. But more worrisome than that was what he was doing off the floor.

James has been dealing with a back injury, and even in game one of the season he was lying down as soon as he got off the court to stretch out his back and make things easier on his body. The image is disturbingly similar to superstars who have dealt with serious back problems in their past, namely Steve Nash and Larry Bird. Those two saw back issues end their careers in the NBA.

What’s even more nausea-inducing is the fact that both Nash and Bird didn’t have severe problems until later in their careers, and both attempted to fight through them until they were forced by pain to give in.

LeBron, while his symptoms aren’t by any means that severe yet, is having these issues at the age of 30 (he’ll be 31 in December). As anyone who keeps tabs on the NBA knows, James is older than most players his age in terms of minutes played. He’s got far more wear and tear on his tires because, up until a season or two ago, he always appeared invincible.

Now, suddenly, he’s not. In Cleveland’s second game against Memphis, the King scored just 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting and played only 31 minutes. One has to wonder if this means anything.

David Blatt has reiterated countless times that he’s hoping to play James fewer minutes this season (he started saying that last year) in order to conserve his energy for the playoffs. But to do that and still gain wins, there needs to be other players around to produce.

That means that guys like Irving and Iman Shumpert need to return as quickly as possible.

Love, as previously mentioned, looked good in Cleveland’s first two games. It’s time for him to make good on his $110 million deal and start playing at an All-Star level again. It’s on him and the rest of the team to prove to LeBron that he doesn’t have to play so many minutes anymore.

The golden years of LeBron’s career are beginning to wane. It’s time he finally gets the help he deserves.

Next: NBA: Top 10 MVP Candidates In 2015-16

More from Hoops Habit

Home/Cleveland Cavaliers