2018 NBA Finals: Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers preview
1. Can LeBron James get enough help to make this competitive?
LeBron James has been absolutely absurd in the 2018 NBA Playoffs. He’s averaging 34.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 54.2 percent from the field, leading his team in every one of those categories except rebounds and field goal percentage.
In these playoffs alone, he’s posted three triple-doubles, two buzzer-beaters, seven 40-point games and 10 30-point performances. He’s only shot 34.4 percent from downtown, and he’s as prone to defensive lapses as any high-usage star, but the man has dragged arguably the worst supporting cast of his 15-year career to the Finals.
At the age of 33, and for the eighth straight time, getting this team to the Finals is a hell of an accomplishment, no matter what you want to say about the East. Against a Western Conference juggernaut, however, it doesn’t bode well that Cleveland’s second-leading scorer in the playoffs is Kevin Love at 13.9 points per game.
LeBron James has scored or assisted on 55% of the Cavaliers points.
— Micah Adams (@MAdamsStatGuy) May 28, 2018
This is the first time in any of his 9 trips to the Finals that he has accounted for over half of his teams points entering the Finals.
Previous high? 49% on the 2007 squad.
Simply put, LeBron needs a ton of help for this to be a series. Kyle Korver has to continue sniping from deep like he has in these playoffs (44.9 percent), only with a dash more of consistency. J.R. Smith has to explode for at least two games. George Hill has to do…literally anything on offense to help.
Tyronn Lue’s bench minutes will be crucial too. Jordan Clarkson has been a disaster in limited playoff minutes, shooting 30.9 percent from the field. J.R. hasn’t been much better at 35.6 percent, and I don’t care what Rodney Hood‘s 41.5 percent says, I swear I haven’t seen the man hit a shot since he first joined the Cavs.
This can’t continue against the Dubs. Larry Nance Jr. has to play big minutes and lend his defensive versatility to the cause. Hood can’t shoot 15.6 percent from downtown, even in limited action. Hill can’t shoot 25.7 percent from deep. Cleveland’s shooters will have to capitalize on the open looks LeBron provides. If the Cavs aren’t getting one or two big-time performances from the supporting cast to keep the Warriors on their toes, this will be a quick series.