NBA Cleveland Cavaliers

LeBron James Needs Most Improvement of Cleveland Cavaliers’ Big 3

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By @GoldenPerspectv

LeBron James

Kim Klement – USA Today Sports

In late-November/early-December, the Cleveland Cavaliers went on an eight-game win streak. In that span, only three of those teams had a winning record, so I wasn’t completely sold that they found their niche. Since then, they have been seesawing between wins and losses. This team is just not confident and continues in search for an identity.

When I say that the best player on the planet, LeBron James, needs to improve the most between Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and himself, I’m not saying he’s the worst of the trio or that he has digressed the most of the bunch. What I am saying is that he has the most room and potential to change this team for the better. I understand that the team chemistry, team defense and other key various fundamentals haven’t been up to par, but there is something that he still can do as the leader on that team.

In a recent interview, he said, “We’re not a very good team.” That statement may be true, but I feel like he hasn’t taken the bull by the horns and been hungry to grab victories like a man in his position should. I understand that everyone has bad games; I’m not completely faulting him for his piss-poor performance (17pts, 5-19 shooting and seven turnovers) yesterday against the Detroit Pistons. However, if you’re going to preach or howl at your teammates about not playing defense or not being in the right spot, you need to mimic those requests by leading by example. There have been several occasions where I have personally caught him sleeping on a possession.

The biggest quality of his game that can be developed is his intensity. For example, I don’t like Kobe Bryant very much, but I do admire his competitive nature. He has this combative aura that streams through his body and is exerted on every possession; Russell Westbrook has the same ruthless spirit. They possess a type of dog-eat-dog mentality that allows them to perform at great levels, and James needs to adopt that type of killer instinct. He’s averaging more turnovers this year than he has in any other year during his 12-year NBA tenure. If/when he loses the ball, he needs to use that aggression to get it right back or to fuel him throughout the next possession.

A perfect example was on Christmas day when they played the Miami Heat. It was cool to see that him and Dwyane Wade were still friends, but at the same time, you have to ignore off the court friendships and play to win. When Wade heated up in the first quarter, he should have stepped up and checked Wade himself; neither Kobe nor Westbrook would have allowed that. It’s the little things like that that could spark your soldiers to fall in line.

I do agree with James’ statement when he said that they are not a championship team. Since day one I’ve said that the Cavaliers will not win a championship this year. If they want to claim that Larry O’Brien trophy with their current roster, it’s going to take at least a year, because the rapport and understanding between each other is too defective to compete on the highest plateau.

Irving and Love’s numbers have decreased, but that’s generally sacrificed when three playmakers combine their talents on one team. The only thing I foresee them improving is their defense — that would be a huge boost for the team that’s 20th in points allowed in the paint. Guard penetration collapses the defense, and without a defensive anchor to guard the rim, it becomes very detrimental for the Cavs. I’m not in their locker room, so I can’t say that James isn’t inspiring them, but I can say that from the outside looking in, he isn’t doing enough to fire up this ball club.

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