Cleveland Cavaliers: Reminiscing LeBron James’ dominant 2018 playoff stretch

In the 2018 NBA playoffs, LeBron James had one of the most impressive individual postseason runs while leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals.

Witnessing the consistent performances of pure greatness from LeBron James in the 2018 NBA playoffs was something special, and arguably one of the greatest individual runs in NBA postseason history.

LeBron would resiliently carry the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals, which would earn him his unbelievably eighth straight Finals appearance. Although his historic run would come to a disappointing end after being swept by Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, and the Golden State Warriors dynasty, LeBron consistently and efficiently did whatever it took to place his team into a winning position.

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At 33 years old in his 15th season, the dominance that he displayed just to book the ticket to the Finals was truly inspirational and magnificent. The numbers simply speak for themselves.

LeBron finished the campaign with averages of 34.0 points per game, 9.1 rebounds, 9.0 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.0 blocks on 53.9 percent shooting from the field.

He ended up tallying seven 40-point games, one 50-point game, four triple-doubles, 15 double-doubles and passed the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most playoff field goals made all-time during the process.

It all started after the Cavs finished the regular season with a record of 50-32 and earned the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. As usual, there was a great deal of pressure lingering around LeBron James as they entered the postseason.

Cleveland would initially meet the fifth-seeded Indiana Pacers in the first round of the playoffs, and it turned out to be one hell of a series. The Pacers gave them all they could handle with Victor Oladipo’s effective surges and Lance Stephenson’s instigating actions toward LeBron (again).

As they went back and worth, though, LeBron’s contributions were invincibly unmatched as he averaged 34.4 points per game, 10.0 rebounds, and 7.7 assists throughout the series.

The series lasted seven games, but LeBron James took over when needed most and delivered an eventful all-around series performance that included a game-winning buzzer-beater in Game 5. LeBron would post 45 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists in Game 7 to propel Cleveland past Indiana.

The Cavs would go on to face the first-seeded Toronto Raptors in the quarterfinals. Unfortunately for the Raptors, they haven’t had much playoff success against LeBron James in the past and that trend didn’t change as LeBron and the Cavs embarrassedly swept them.

LeBron was too much for Toronto once again, averaging 34.0 points per game, 8.3 rebounds, and a whopping 11.3 assists throughout the quick series.

After a tremendous 2017-18 regular season that the Raptors had, it’s a shame that they never really stood a chance once they lost the first two games of the series at home. They just couldn’t stop LeBron James as he dominated every aspect of the court.

LeBron put on an absolute passing clinic with all kinds of flashy assists in addition to making a whole bunch of difficult shots, including another buzzer-beater in Game 3 to take a 3-0 series lead that ultimately cut off all hope for Toronto.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, LeBron and the Cavs would face the second-seeded Boston Celtics, a team with exciting young talent and lots of heart.

The Celtics did an outstanding job putting pressure on LeBron for the most part, yet he would still go on to average 33.6 points per game, 9.0 rebounds, and 7.0 assists throughout the series.

Boston was terrific at home the entire postseason and won the first two games of the series against Cleveland on their home court. The Cavs were down 0-2 after Game 2 and then found themselves down 2-3 after Game 5.

Then, LeBron James put his team on his back and strived toward glory. As the Cavs faced elimination in Game 6, LeBron scored 46 points, grabbed 11 boards, and distributed nine assists to help even the series and go back to Boston for a thrilling Game 7.

In that epic Game 7, LeBron finished with 35 points, 15 rebounds, and nine assists to help knock off the Celtics while giving them their first postseason loss at home that year. After a hard-fought battle with an exceptional Boston team that exceeded expectations, LeBron remarkably led the Cavs back to the NBA Finals.

Cleveland may have been swept by Golden State in the Finals, but none of the blame could’ve been directed toward LeBron James. LeBron would record averages of 34.0 points per game, 8.5 rebounds, and 10.0 assists in the short-lived matchup, but the Warriors seemed unbeatable in a seven-game series with four All-Stars and an excellent supporting cast to go along with home-court advantage.

Although, LeBron’s unreal performance in Game 1 almost gave Cleveland the win when he exploded for 51 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists. If George Hill doesn’t miss a free throw with a few seconds left or if J.R. Smith infamously doesn’t appear to forget the score, they very might have well won that first game of the series.

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LeBron never really had much support from his teammates throughout the entire playoffs in 2018, but the perseverance, toughness, impact and individual quality that he showed was uncharacteristic and unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.

If you took LeBron James off that team that year, Cleveland most likely wouldn’t have even come close to making the playoffs. With all due respect to his teammates, LeBron consistently did everything on the floor with barely any rest. His value was off the charts.

LeBron’s scoring abilities were at the highest level, and his passing may have been even more impressive. He was an efficient monster offensively, not to mention some of the jaw-dropping defensive plays that he also made. Every game and every series amongst the 2018 postseason, LeBron was the most valuable player on the court to his team.

It was an amazing experience to witness, and LeBron should be very proud of his contributions to the Cavaliers’ accomplishments that season despite not winning a championship. Jeff Van Gundy once stated, “He’ll never have a greater achievement than getting this team to the Finals” when referring to LeBron James during a broadcast.

Overall, the combination of value, resiliency, quality, efficiency, consistency, dominance, and leadership from LeBron throughout the 2018 NBA playoffs appeared to take his greatness to another level.

Don’t take LeBron James for granted.