Golden State Warriors: 5 Takeaways From Game 6 vs. Cavaliers
3. LeBron Cannot Be Stopped
In the 2015 NBA Finals, LeBron James was the best player in the series, averaging 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game. Yet somehow, he’s been even better in 2016 against a superior Warriors team.
Through the first six games of this series, King James is averaging 30.2 points, 11.3 rebounds, 8.5 assists, 2.7 steals and 2.2 blocks per game on .514/.400/.697 shooting splits.
Over the last two games, with his Cavs facing elimination, James has turned in two of the greatest playoff performances of his illustrious career. In Game 5, it was a 41-16-7-3-3 stat line on 16-of-30 shooting. In Game 6, he was somehow even better, dropping a 41-11-8-4-3 line on 16-of-27 shooting.
LeBron James leads everyone in everything ... literally pic.twitter.com/gvhXehdaDV
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 17, 2016
Ever since Klay Thompson’s comments about the NBA being a man’s league, James has been a man among boys. Actually, that doesn’t quite do it justice. He’s been the proverbial Boogeyman, an absolutely terrifying monster under these boys’ beds.
Draymond Green’s absence in Game 5 played a part in this series lasting longer than it probably should have, but King James has commanded the respect of a team that thought its work was all but done.
LeBron James last two games, facing elimination: 82 points, 24 rebounds, 18 assists, 7 steals, 6 blocks, 3 turnovers, +37.
— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) June 17, 2016
In Game 6, he singlehandedly held off every comeback attempt by the Warriors in the second half.
He scored 18 straight for the Cavs bridging the third and fourth quarters at one point, his alley-oop jam from J.R. Smith was a third quarter dagger and his block on Curry — and subsequent trash talk — was not only the play of the game, but summed up the entire series in one GIF:
Heading into Game 7, the Warriors will need a healthy Iggy to check James. They’ll need LeBron to misplace the jump shot he’s rediscovered, they’ll need to force him back into a facilitator role, they’ll need Green to protect the rim when he drives and they’ll need to hope that at some point, this cyborg of an NBA player gets tired.
As of right now, LeBron James is singlehandedly punking the greatest regular season team in NBA history. It takes a singularly legendary player to do that.
Regardless of what happens in Game 7, regardless of who wins the series and regardless of who earns Finals MVP honors, we should remember the 2016 NBA Finals as the year the world finally appreciated LeBron for the once-in-a-lifetime player he is, because what he’s doing in this series is nothing short of exemplary.
Next: No. 2