Cleveland Cavaliers: 5 adjustments for Game 2 of 2017 NBA Finals

1. Switch up LeBron’s defensive assignment

Something has got to give for LeBron James, who somehow played 40 minutes in 22-point blowout Thursday night. He’s always been viewed as a cyborg capable of tallying an inhuman amount of minutes, but that’s not going to cut it in this series.

Why? Because the Warriors replaced Harrison Barnes with Kevin Durant, and the latter absolutely stuck it to the King in their head-to-head Game 1 matchup.

LeBron finished with a 28-15-8 stat line on 9-of-20 shooting, but KD was the best player on the floor, tallying 38 points, eight rebounds and eight assists on 14-of-26 shooting.

Not only was LeBron’s defense on Durant suspect in Game 2, but he looked visibly tired. It’s no wonder why; asking King James to do as much as he does on the offensive end and then defend one of the NBA’s most prolific scorers on the other end is simply unconscionable — especially when the Warriors have so many quality defenders to throw at the King to wear him down.

In Game 2, something has to change. The problem is, there are no easy answers as to how.

The first solution that comes to mind is switching LeBron onto a less dynamic offensive player. They could hide him on Klay Thompson with the way the other Splash Brother has shot the ball, or they could use him to limit Draymond Green’s point of attack as a facilitator and jack-of-all-trades.

Unfortunately, that immediately begs the question: Who the hell is going to defend Kevin Durant if not LeBron?

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There’s no answer for that one. Richard Jefferson is nowhere near being up to the challenge these days. Iman Shumpert isn’t long enough and is a complete non-factor on the offensive end. Kyle Korver and Kevin Love are laughable last resorts.

Perhaps the answer is Tristan Thompson? Though he doesn’t have the footspeed to stay with Durant consistently, using LeBron as a rover could help protect the rim when KD blows by TT off the dribble, allow him to roam the passing lanes and preserve his energy for the other end of the floor.

Even switching other players onto KD in short spells would help LeBron recharge his batteries. Getting him earlier rests to keep him fresh for the second half might do wonders as well.

There’s no question that King James has to carry the heaviest load of his NBA Finals career on both ends of the floor. But asking him to check Kevin Durant all game and do everything he does for the offense — all while logging 44-48 minutes a game — is a recipe for disaster.

Next: Cleveland Cavaliers - 5 keys to winning the 2017 NBA Finals

LeBron James will be better in Game 2 and moving forward in this series, but the Cavs have to get creative in preserving his energy for a dynamic one-on-one matchup that did not swing Cleveland’s way in Game 1.