Since LeBron James first returned to the court in a Jan. 13 loss to Phoenix, the Cavs have gone undefeated in six straight. James is averaging over 30 points per game in that stretch, and the Cavs have double-digit victory margins in their last four. James tells Northeast Ohio Media Group’s Joe Vardon it’s their “improved mentality more than anything” that’s led to the change in Cleveland’s fortunes. But it’s really just an a rested LeBron.
It’s easy for some to point to the Dion Waiters trade that brought on J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert as a watershed in Cleveland’s season, but it’s really just the return of LeBron from the most prolonged in-season absence of his career.
Yes, maybe roster turnover played a role, since there were a lot of new faces, but part of the problem of playing with LeBron are the unfair expectations to win every night. Every player has to deal with that pressure — new and old alike — if they haven’t yet played with James.
James might speak of an improved “mentality,” but the Cavs are his team, even more so than the Heat were his team. That means Cleveland’s supporting cast will take their cues from him.
LeBron has been a lot more active since his two-week R&R in Miami, too. He’s attacking the rim under more control (making five percent more of his attempts in the restricted area), and his teammates are responding with increased effort — even if that doesn’t always translate into more effort from James.
According to SportVU data, opponents are shooting more than four percent less from the field overall while going against James since his return, and 10 percentage points lower from beyond the arc. Translation: he’s actually sprinting out to contest three-point shots and other mid-range jumpers he might have slacked off on earlier this season (opponents are actually shooting better against him in the paint, but we’re guessing he’s relying too much on the presence of Timofey Mozgov, so he’s not clamping down more).
James’ attacking mentality was extended to last night’s game against the Thunder, where he struggled from the field (11-of-25), but still managed to score 34 points (along with seven boards and five assists). Something as simple as bulling past Serge Ibaka goes a long way towards the win if you can string a few of those easy buckets together every period. This one happened after the Thunder scored.
But the “mentality” James is speaking of could mean any number of things, and it’s just the sort of obfuscated line that’s become the norm for stars of LeBron’s stature. Does he mean they’ve now got a winner’s “mentality” now, or are they actually more confident in their roles within the team?
Kevin Love still plays hot potato with the ball sometimes in their half-court sets; Every Cav can fall into watching LeBron hold the ball on the wing or at the top of the key as seconds pass before he initiates a drive or a step-back. They can get lazy on perimeter defense, allowing easy dribble drives in the process, and they’re suspectible to smart off-ball actions — something OKC has always struggled to implement under Scott Brooks.
Half a dozen wins doesn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things except to reassure Cavs fans they’ll likely have homecourt for at least one round of the playoffs. Anyone who actually wondered if the Cavs would make the playoffs hasn’t looked at the standings in a while. Even after dropping nine of 10 before their current winning streak, they were in no real danger of falling out of the top five. Right now they’re 3.5 games back of Chicago for the No. 4 seed, but we’re not sure an improved mentality is the cause for the change; they just have their best player back, the four-time MVP and two-time Finals MVP. That’s why LeBron is LeBron.
(NEOMG)
Has anything actually changed in Cleveland or is LeBron just playing better?
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