LeBron James needs help to compete with Golden State

The Cavs are in a 2-0 hole because James isn’t getting much.

LEBRON James, the best player in the world (don’t let that knee jerk towards Kevin Durant too much), perhaps the greatest American-born athlete ever, is having a stellar NBA Finals.

He’s played an average of 40 minutes in the first two games of the Cavs’ showdown with the Golden State Warriors and he’s averaging 28.5 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in those two games.

His team is down 2-0, and the two losses weren’t even close. In fact, LeBron, for all of his tremendous, triple-double-averaging play, is minus-33 through two games.

There’s no logical argument to be made for LeBron being a burden to his Cavs’ team — there are nuanced conversations to be had about his defensive performances, but to say that LeBron is a detriment to the Cavs’ effort is to be disassociated with reality. (Though I’m sure some, if not many, will try to make this argument before Game 3 tips off.)

LeBron James reacts against the Golden State Warriors,Source:AFP

The Cavs are in a 2-0 hole because James isn’t getting much, if any, help.

He’s not getting consistent performances from the other two members of the Big Three: Kevin Love was poor (despite a 15-21 box-score scoreline) in Game 1, but bounced back to have a good Game 2; Kyrie Irving, who was strong in Game 1, went 8-of-23 in Game 2.

The Cavs can’t win with a Big Two, even when James is putting up incredible numbers.

They particularly can’t win with a Big Two when damn near every role player has struggled as well.

Tristan Thompson, the Cavs’ starting centre and x-factor, has been a non-factor in the first two games of these Finals. He has a grand total of eight rebounds and eight points in two games.

Deron Williams, who entered the first NBA Finals of his career with momentum, has turned in a dud performance — he’s yet to score in 33 minutes. At times, he’s been comically overmatched by the Warriors.

JR Smith and LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers discuss a play.Source:AFP

Channing Frye, who sat in Game 1, played in Game 2 — that was a nice surprise — and he was subsequently embarrassed at the rim twice.

Kyle Korver — the “best shooter in the world” according to his teammates — has one 3-pointer to his name through two games. In Game 2 he at times looked afraid to pull the trigger.

Iman Shumpert has been terrible — he’s drawing front-iron at an incredible rate and is shooting 25 per cent from the field, while his defence hasn’t been up to par.

And then there’s J.R. Smith. If you have seen Smith, please make sure that he makes it to Cleveland for Game 3, because there’s no evidence that he played in Games 1 or 2. – www.news.com.au