Cleveland Cavaliers: LeBron James and Kevin Love, most valuable duo
By Ryan Piers
James Harden and Chris Paul
Anyone casually following the NBA knows the Houston Rockets are in the middle of a spectacular season. They’re a league-best 24-4, riding a 13-game winning streak.
The Rockets are 13-0 with Chris Paul. It’s the best start for a player on a new team since Dennis Rodman joined the ChicagoBulls more than a decade ago.
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Matching the Harden-Paul duo under coach Mike D’Antoni is like giving former Formula One great Michael Schumacker two jet packs. D’Antoni’s offense will naturally be the fastest in the league. Arming him with two, uh, rockets is unfair.
Predictably, Houston;s offense is second in the NBA with 115.1 points per game. The Cavs are right behind them with 111.2 per game.
Numbers-wise, LeBron/Love and Harden/Paul are comparable. The Cavs duo is averaging 47.3 points, 18.7 rebounds and 11.2 assists per game. The Rockets combo is averaging 48.6 points, 10.2 rebounds and 18.8 assists per game.
But the Houston duo is part of a well-oiled system that operates efficiently regardless of which cogs and pieces are in place. As previously mentioned, the Gordon/Ariza combo owns the highest offensive rating in the league among two-man lineups.
On the other hand, the Cavaliers’ offense relies on LeBron and Love playing multiple positions to succeed. Take the first three plays of Love’s highlight reel against Los Angeles.
In play one, Love takes a feed in the post, drilling a fade away shot. Play two, he starts on the left, bulleting a cross-court pass to Jose Calderon for an easy 3. And on play three he slings a full-court dish to LeBron James for a simple dunk. In each instance he plays a different, valuable role leading to something positive.
And of course, LeBron can play any of five positions with ability to score inside, out, left, right, up, down, from the bleachers, rafters and snack stand.
The Rockets’ offense isn’t focused on two players. It doesn’t change when Harden and Paul sit. The Cavaliers’ offense revolves around LeBron and Love, making them more valuable.