So far up to this point he has done a nice job of that, for the most part.
LeBron is averaging 36 minutes per game over ten games. Not bad.
But when we look at the way those minutes are dispersed, there are a few eye poppers.
The past three games, LeBron has played far more minutes than the previous seven to start the season.
Until November 10, when the Cavs hosted the Utah Jazz, LeBron had not played more than 36 minutes in a game.
Since then, LeBron has played 38, 39, and 45, respectively.
Big deal, right? What’s two or three minutes? And the 45 minute game went to double overtime.
The point is those were unnecessary minutes that had the team been giving more effort in the first three quarters of the game, there would be no reason for some of the starters to play deep into the fourth quarter.
The Cavs clearly have the talent to beat most of the teams on their schedule, even when they don’t play well for the first half. So imagine how big of a lead they could have by halftime and the end of the third quarter if that talent was playing up to its capabilities.
There is a delicate balance between “trying too hard” in a regular season game and being ready for the postseason, but if the Cavs just came out of the locker room with their foot on the gas from tip-off onward, many of these games could be over with 12 minutes to play, and we could be seeing a healthy dose of Jared Cunningham, James Jones, Sasha Kaun, and Anderson Varejao to close out a double digit lead.
Instead, we’ve had dramatic finish after dramatic finish against the Pacers, Jazz, Heat, Sixers, Bucks, Knicks, and Bulls.
Are these not all teams that the Cavs should have no trouble putting away?
To be fair, the Cavs are doing this without their starting backcourt of Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert, and they have for the most part been a very good second half team.
My question is how is this going to play out as the season goes on and the competition gets stiffer?
Speaking of getting stiffer, how is LeBron’s back going to hold up over the course of an 82 game season?
LeBron has said he intends to play all 82 games, we’ll see how that pans out when the Cavs have home court clinched with 2 weeks left in the season, but still.
Let’s say LeBron does play all 82 games. We all are fresh off of watching LeBron push his way through the NBA Finals on will and adrenaline alone.
It’s going to take everything possible in the tank for the Cavs to win the Finals in June. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, everyone is aware of the historically great level at which Steph Curry and the Warriors are playing.
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