Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 takeaways from Game 1 vs. Pacers

3. The silent King

If any other player put up 24 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in a playoff game, it would probably represent the ceiling of their abilities.

Not LeBron.

For whatever reason, James seemed abnormally passive throughout the game, not even attempting to take over with the chance to get the Cavaliers back in front after cutting the lead down to single digits on multiple occasions.

Throughout the course of the long 82-game regular season, LeBron has enough mileage on his odometer where he’s earned the benefit of the doubt in situations where his effort seems lacking.

Once the playoffs roll around, such effort is unacceptable, as the stakes rise with every game.

It’s no secret that the Cavaliers rely on James for just about everything on the offensive end.

Without a consistent secondary ball-handler, Cleveland is going to need James to look for his own shot in order to put pressure on the defense and free up shots for the likes of Rodney Hood and J.R. Smith.

To be fair, 24 points is nothing to scoff at, but Cleveland needs James in attack mode 100 percent of the time if it wants a chance at getting back to the Finals for the fourth straight season.