Boston Celtics: 5 keys to conference finals vs. Cavaliers
4. Make LeBron defend
Despite his otherworldly offensive capabilities at age 33, LeBron James isn’t what he used to be on the defensive end. Once a perennial All-Defensive Team member, James has slipped significantly on that end, ranking 458th among players in individual defensive rating.
While a majority of this is due to the energy he prefers to conserve during the regular season, not wanting to burn himself out before the playoffs, a large sum of it is due to the load he’s had to carry on the offensive end at the expense of his defense.
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With Kyrie Irving in Boston and the Isaiah Thomas experiment not working out, the Cavs don’t have another ball-handler that can consistently run the offense, forcing James to play big minutes and have everything run through him, for fear of Cleveland falling too far behind.
Because he can’t afford to defend the opposing team’s best player consistently, James has begun acting like a free safety, roaming off the opposition’s worst offensive talent, calling out sets and jumping passing lanes when he sees fit.
It is for this reason that the Celtics should make sure to involve whoever LeBron is guarding on as many possessions as they can. Doing so would force James to either use more energy on the defensive end or give up points to conserve that energy he so desperately needs.
This doesn’t even mean featuring LeBron’s matchup on every possession; rather, it means that the matchup, let’s say Semi Ojeleye for example, should never allow James to remain stagnant on that end.
Crash the glass on every possession. Set every screen possible. Never stop running around the court. Any extra movement LeBron is forced to use on the defensive end takes away from his abilities on offense.
While it may not make a difference early on, as the series progresses, the wear and tear accumulated could make an impact on the normally iron man-like James.