For most of this NBA season, the title has been plausibly within the reach of nine or 10 teams.
San Antonio Spurs imitators such as the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors have raced to the top of their conferences, leading MVP candidates like James Harden and Marc Gasol have put the Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies in the conversation, and a slew of other challengers would not be crazy for thinking that, if things break just right, they might find themselves champions at season’s end.
It is starting to look, though, like it is going to be much, much harder for those things to break right.
For the better part of the first half of this year, the Cleveland Cavaliers just did not seem right. LeBron James just did not seem right.
For a team with as much talent as Cleveland, it was jarring to see James listlessly leading a team bogged down in the middle of the Eastern Conference’s pack for so long.
Cleveland were an OK 18-12 when James left for a two-week, eight-game injury hiatus at the end of December and beginning of January.
They went 1-7 without him in those games. Since his return, on January 13, they are 16-4.
Cleveland’s thorough demolishing of the Warriors in a 110-99 victory at home on Thursday night might have been the single most impressive result of the year – and signalled that James’s Cleveland are still the NBA title favourites.
James did it all, scoring 42 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and adding five assists, three steals and a block for good measure.
He has been tearing through the league for weeks, and Thursday’s game underscored that whatever was dragging James down at the beginning of the year should not be considered a long-term concern.
If he truly is beginning to slow down at 30, 12 NBA seasons and 891 regular-season games into his career, there is nothing in his latest surge that shows it.
Against Golden State, James was at his all-conquering best.
He scored largely at will – inside, outside, attacking the basket and shooting over helpless defenders.
Draymond Green could not prevent him from backing down into the post early on and lifting a nifty hook for two points.
At one point in the second quarter James blew past Andre Iguodala for an easy lay-up.
In the second half he knocked down a casual step-back jumper over a lunging Harrison Barnes.
These are good defenders, on the NBA’s best defensive team, and James had his way with them.
He involved his teammates and defended with ferocity. He was active in every aspect of the game.
Astute acquisitions in Timofey Mozgov, JR Smith and Iman Shumpert addressed Cleveland’s depth issues, while Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving aremore comfortable in their roles around James, and that has given the Cavaliers a sharper edge as well.
But most of the reason Cleveland have looked like the best team in the NBA for a month is that James has again looked like the best player in the league.
Up until his absence, Cleveland were outscoring opponents by 4.7 points per 100 possessions with James on the floor. Since January 13 they are scoring an astounding 17.5 more points per 100 possessions than opponents under a resurgent James.
With that James leading Cleveland – the James that cannot be stopped, the one who can shift games even against the NBA’s best on his own, the James who makes whichever team employing him the overwhelming title favourites before the season – the NBA’s wide-open, feel-good mood is set for a big downer.
jraymond@thenational.ae
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