LeBron James had the ultimate experience when he left the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat. He joined the likes of Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and made four consecutive appearances in the NBA Finals, winning two out of four.
The Heat made subtle tweaks to the roster in that time outside of the Big 3, plugging in shooters like Ray Allen, Mike Miller, Shane Battier, and Rashard Lewis. There was a lot of support around LeBron in terms of complimentary pieces, but Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue says LeBron is currently in a position he’s never been in before in terms of his support.
From Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
“LeBron is letting the game come to him,” Lue said after practice Saturday. “When he wants to be aggressive and he sees fit to be aggressive when the teams have a good run or whatever they may have, then he just takes over the game … And with Kyrie (Irving) and Kevin (Love) playing at a high level, he can take a lot of mileage off of his body, reduce his (usage) rate and just kind of seeing and figuring out the flow of the game.”
…“I don’t think he’s been in this position before where he can just sit back and see the flow of the game, see where he has to take over the game and it’s been great for him,” said Lue. “I mean, to average 23 points or 24 points and sweep both series is big for us because now our other guys are stepping up, they’re playing well and we know LeBron always can play well.”
One of the first things on LeBron’s agenda upon returning to Cleveland was recruiting Kevin Love to assemble his new Big 3. After his experience in Miami, he clearly was convinced that he needed to start there. Once it was formed, debates ensued about whether or not LeBron’s new Big 3 could supersede what he had in Miami with Wade and Bosh. Different dynamics, of course, with reasonable cause to wonder if Irving and Love could ascend to that level alongside LeBron.
The Cavs Big 3 wasn’t able to complete their first postseason campaign together last season due to Love and Irving’s injuries, but now in full form, this team looks scarier than ever, and frankly it’s because LeBron James isn’t having to do everything. Irving, by far the most talented point guard James has played with, is completely in rhythm, Kevin Love is being used more adamantly, and J.R. Smith has been unconscious from three. The dynamic weapons that Cleveland assembled has indeed put LeBron in a unique situation where he’s not carrying the heavy load, like he did for much of the regular season and in last year’s Finals.
As this team continues its stride, after sweeping their way back to the Eastern Conference Finals, they increase their chances of becoming possibly the most complete and supportive team LeBron has ever played on.
