LeBron in new world of lower hopes
— -- OAKLAND, Calif. -- For once LeBron James can just play basketball, unburdened by expectations or pressure. Kyrie Irving has a fractured left kneecap and is done, and so are the Cavaliers' chances to win the NBA Finals. You can't reasonably expect the Cavaliers to beat the league's best team, the Golden State Warriors, with Irving and the previously injured Kevin Love out. LeBron's off the hook.
There's only upside left for him. If the Cavaliers lose, you can't pin this on LeBron. But if the Warriors remain intact, and the Cavaliers win, it will be one of the greatest achievements in the history of the NBA. They'd have to make an extra Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP trophy for LeBron as well as an additional ring, because this would count double.
There's no multiplier if he loses. It still counts, though. There'd still be the problematic 2-4 record in the NBA Finals hampering his case in the greatest-of-all-time discussion. Even if we make allowances for this year and for losing to the San Antonio Spurs in his first Finals appearance with a roster full of "Who he play for?" guys in 2007, he'd still be no better than .500 on the biggest stage.
In this play, things are going to pieces like the scenes in "Birdman." He's running out of help to counter the NBA's top-scoring team this season. LeBron scored 44 percent of the Cavaliers' points in Game 1 and Irving scored 41 percent of the remaining 56 percent. So even if LeBron can maintain that pace and score roughly half of his team's points, they need to replace half of the other half. There isn't enough room at the podium for all of the Cavaliers who will need to surpass expectations for Cleveland to win.
J.R. Smith could have a night similar to the time he made eight 3-pointers and shot 63 percent overall in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. If anything, it's his cue to get hot after shooting 3 for 13 in Game 1. It's sustaining that his been Smith's problem.
Mike Miller once made seven 3-pointers in a game, when the Miami Heat closed out the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the championship in 2012. The key part of that sentence was "2012." Miller has made a total of two 3-pointers in the current postseason.
Tristan Thompson is such a relentless machine on the boards, he could be the new Terminator if Arnold Schwarzenegger ever leaves that movie franchise. But Thompson has yet to score 20 points in a playoff game. He scored the first basket in this series, then didn't put the ball through the hoop again the rest of the game.
If the Cavaliers can't prevail, it's perfectly understandable. We seldom mention the fact that Magic Johnson's Los Angeles Lakers were swept twice in the NBA Finals. By the end of the 1983 Finals, the Lakers were without three of their top six players (Norm Nixon, rookie James Worthy and Bob McAdoo) and lost to a formidable Philadelphia 76ers squad. In 1989 Magic joined Byron Scott on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, and the Bad Boy Pistons got their first championship. These things happen. LeBron recognizes that so much is beyond his control.
"There are a few things that you would love to have going late in the season," he said. "That's being healthy, having a great rhythm and then you need a little luck as well. We've had a great rhythm. We haven't had much luck and we haven't been healthy.
"But I haven't gotten discouraged. I understand the moment that I'm in and I'm not too much worried about the game. I'm worried about the moment. I'm happy with the moment. I'm excited to be in this moment once again, and I'm going to stay strong for my team, no matter who is or is not in the lineup."
Earlier in the week, LeBron listed the 2009 Eastern Conference finals against the Orlando Magic among his better series, even though the Cavaliers lost. His average stat line in that series went 38-8-8 and he hit the winning shot at the buzzer in Game 2. But the Cavaliers' second-best player, Mo Williams, shot 37 percent for the series and Orlando's Rashard Lewis killed them with corner 3s.
For now, the series LeBron will have to account for when it's time to render the final judgment on his career is the 2011 Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. He had the better team and home-court advantage and couldn't come through. He wasn't the best player on the court (danke, Dirk Nowitzki) and wasn't even the best player on his team (both Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh scored more points than him that series).
Will he be haunted by his missed shot at the end of regulation in Game 1 of this series? Will he wonder how the course of the series would change if they drew first blood on the Warriors' home court and Irving didn't play more than 41 minutes and expose himself to the additional injury risk that eventually did him in?
When he talked to the media Friday before news of Irving's injury status was released, LeBron even admitted that after missing those types of shots "You have so many different thoughts in your mind, saying, 'OK, I should have done this or I should have done that.' " He also said he was comfortable with the shot he took, a step-back jumper against Andre Iguodala.
LeBron has always felt more comfortable than we have about what he does on the court. We demand more, expect greater things from this unparalleled combination of athleticism and basketball acumen. He tries to immerse himself in the process more than the results.
As he often has said, including at the end of his interview session Friday, "You go out and play as hard as you can and you live with the results." If the rest of the series plays out similar to Game 1, with big numbers and unstoppable stretches by LeBron, and a victory by the Warriors, it won't be time for snarky comments. The only thing left to do would be to borrow the words from that kid above the tunnel at American Airlines Arena and send LeBron off with a "Good job, good effort."