May 31, 2018 by

Tasked With the Impossible Again, Can Lebron James, Cavaliers Overcome Their Biggest Challenge Yet?

BOSTON, Mass. – A few minutes after playing 46 minutes in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, LeBron James sat deep within the confines of the TD Garden, left alone to ponder what the future held.  James had just come off of a herculean 45 point, 6 assist, 5 rebound game on 48 percent shooting. Somehow, James’ inhuman performance was not enough, as the Celtics walked away from Game 7 with 97-92 victory that earned them a birth in the NBA Finals. That night, though, was 10 years ago: May 16, 2008.  A lot has changed since that fateful night, namely that fact that LeBron James has played a decade of basketball at the highest level anybody has ever seen and has won three championships in the process. Returning to the game that took place last Sunday, the script could not have been more different than that game ten years ago, apart from yet another all-time performance from James on the biggest of all stages.  

The game started exactly how the Celtics envisioned, as Boston kicked off the 1st quarter with a 6-0 outburst that forced Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue to burn the first of his ever-so-precious timeouts.  Cleveland fought back to take a 17-16 lead, but Boston still dictated the pace of the game. The Celtics utilized an 18-6 run to take a 35-23 over the flailing Cavaliers, who, at that point, shot an abysmal 1-13 from three.  To their credit, LeBron James’ supporting cast stepped up to shrink Boston’s lead to four points at halftime.

One of the game’s many turning points came in the 3rd quarter, when James, Tristan Thompson, and Jeff Green, Cleveland’s unexpected Game 7 hero, fueled an 8-0 Cleveland run that gave the Cavaliers a 55-51 lead.  That run set the stage for this.

Even LeBron James, who has a penchant for clutch Game 7 blocks, had to stand under the basket and process what he had just done to Terry Rozier.

Boston, though, refused to go quietly into the night, using a Jayson Tatum dunk (over LeBron no less) and three-pointer to take a one point lead before Jeff Green answered with a three of his own that gave Cleveland the lead for good.  While Tatum’s sequence was more than impressive, it also marked the beginning of LeBron’s nightly late-game dominance.

James knocked down three free throws before firing a ridiculous full court pass that extended the Cavaliers’ lead to seven points.

LeBron, however, was not done putting on a show for the stunned Boston crowd, as a mere 12 seconds later, he raced down the court before somehow muscling through two Celtic defenders and flushing an and-1 layup that put the game on ice.

The layup was a fitting end to the series, as the Celtics, despite valiant efforts and contributions from their entire rotation, could not muster up the energy to stop LeBron from making his eight consecutive NBA Finals appearance.  Bleacher Report summed up the night’s events with a 20 second video.

In the end, James finished with 35 points, 15 rebounds, and 9 assists on 50% shooting (playing all 48 minutes) to supplement the argument that he is, in fact, the greatest basketball player to ever walk the earth.  As for his legacy outside of this game, LeBron “The King” James moved to 6-2 in Game 7’s for his career, his last loss coming in Boston a decade ago. Although Boston proved to be a daunting task for James and Co., the challenge that lies ahead will almost certainly be much more difficult.

After downing the top-seeded Houston Rockets in an epic seven-game Western Conference Finals, the Golden State Warriors are Cleveland’s NBA Finals opponent for the fourth year in a row.  Game one of the series will take place on Thursday night at 9:00 P.M. ET at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California and will be televised on ESPN. Against the Warriors, The King will certainly need more help than he received against Boston.  The key for Cleveland, other than giving James enough help to even have a chance, will be pushing the series to a seventh game. While the Warriors have a distinct talent advantage over the Cavaliers, Cleveland still has the best player in the league, who raises his game to an unparalleled level when a series reaches a seventh game. To get to a game seven, the Cavaliers will need to either go undefeated at home (they did against Boston, so it’s possible) or steal at least one of Games 1, 2, or 5 in Oakland, where Golden State has lost only once in the past two postseasons.  

The Prediction: Although the Cavaliers have the best player in the world on their side, the Warriors two of the best five players on the planet, two other perennial all-stars, and a distinct coaching advantage working in their favor.  While neither team is particularly deep, the disparity in top-tier talent gives Golden State a huge advantage, and that, combined with home-court advantage, should be enough to propel the Warriors to their second championship in a row and their third in four years.  LeBron will undoubtedly play well this series, and he’ll most likely average either forty points or a triple-double, but Cleveland has no chance against Golden State. If the King pulls this off, he will surpass Michael Jordan in the eyes of most, but Warriors are the most talented team in NBA history, and simply will not lose to this edition of the Cavaliers.

Warriors win in five games.

 

All stats obtained via basketballreference.com

 

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