How LeBron is pushing the Cavs to new heights
CLEVELAND – Kyrie Irving whizzed his dribble to the rim, absorbed impact and fell, reaching for his legs on Tuesday night. LeBron James and seemingly half the Cleveland Cavaliers’ bench moved to pick him up, and soon Irving rose and continued his obliteration of the Toronto Raptors. These Cavaliers are not three-point shooting reliant, James says, and his point guard justifies it: Irving dominates with mid-range jumpers and a tight handle to enter traffic and finish at the basket.
Gradually, as Irving reached full strength from last June’s fractured kneecap, James has relinquished the basketball. No one around Cleveland’s staff doubts James’ judgment, but his dominance of the ball had hampered the roster’s growth earlier in the season. It was required a season ago, when Irving and Kevin Love suffered season-ending injuries in the playoffs, but James has now let go. It has not led to their probable conference championship just yet, but the ease with which they are coasting past Detroit, Atlanta and Toronto is impressive. He’s always trusted his teammates for critical shots – ones that he creates – but this postseason he has shown his willingness to move off the ball to facilitate Irving’s creativity or Love’s elbow post-ups.
People are starting to witness it, from Cavaliers players and coaches to opposing scouts and personnel staffs. When a 115-84 blowout in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals was complete, this Cleveland team stood as the most dominant team in these playoffs, albeit in the East. Its team aura compares favorably to the Golden State Warriors, with the proliferation of ball movement and faith.
“It’s them being on the same wavelength, a new trust level where LeBron understands what Kyrie and Kevin are trying to do,” Cavaliers veteran James Jones told The Vertical. “Chemistry evolves. [James] wants Kyrie to, ‘Go.’ When you look at the great tandems in this league, the great Big Threes, they continue to get better over time.
“Our core guys – LeBron, Kyrie, Kevin, and so on – have just started to find a greater level of chemistry.”
“Go Kyrie, go,” teammates heard James telling Irving. With 27 points and five assists for Irving and 24 points from James, they easily won the matchup against DeMar DeRozan (18 points) and Kyle Lowry (eight points). The Cavaliers crushed the Raptors on the glass (45 rebounds to 23) and in shooting (55.4 percent to 42.1). With Golden State and Oklahoma City appearing to be in the early stages of a classic conference final, Cleveland deposed of Toronto swiftly on this night, easily dismissing the Raptors’ fury.
Inside the Cavaliers’ locker room, players have heard the external position: The East bracket is the warmup to a consecutive NBA Finals appearance. For Cleveland, there indeed doesn’t appear to be any litmus test in the East.
Beyond the turmoil of an in-season coaching change and the fluctuating desires of Love to spend part of his prime as a spot-up shooter, the Cavaliers emerged with 57 regular-season wins. Jones, a two-time champion with James in Miami, acknowledged the Cavaliers’ vets have noticed a change in body language throughout games and off-days – the byproduct of the confidence of a potent, healthy roster.
“It was tough to jump off the bench, tough to get excited last season, to be honest,” Jones said. “We were just trying to survive. Kyrie and Kevin were out, and our support guys were banged up. It’s tough to be jumping on the bench when your team is in that state. When our core is healthy and confident, our jobs are easier and we enjoy it.”
The arc of Irving’s career is making everyone’s job easier around these Cavaliers. James has given his trust to Irving, and in return, the 24-year-old has worked to find quick shots instead of over-dribbling. Late in the regular season, Irving pounded the ball, missing 12 of 17 shots and committing four turnovers in a 105-102 loss to Chicago. He needed to be decisive and efficient, not overly dominant with the ball. “Experiences in that game – and the season – molded him and molded everyone,” Jones said.
In a league in which Stephen Curry has stretched the three-point arc with his range, Irving has been capable of taking over with his in-between game, his ball-handling, his 17-foot jumper. He completely won his matchup with Lowry, and won the admiration of his teammates.
“Kyrie’s becoming a leader, a staple of this team,” James said.
“I’m just in amazement with the way he handles the ball,” Channing Frye said.
James and Irving watched San Antonio deliver a demolition of Oklahoma City in the West semifinals, only to see the Spurs lose four of five and the series. This is one game, and just one side of the playoff bracket. Cleveland isn’t here for 12 wins, for a conference title, James said. Sixteen wins on the way to an NBA championship will require the most belief yet out of LeBron James, and Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love are earning it now.
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