Cavs without Lebron this series

[Nash]

@tomhaberstroh: Without LeBron James on the floor this series.
JR Smith 0/9 FG
Delly 0/7 FG
J. Jones 0/3 FG
Shumpert 0/2 FG
Total 0/21 FG



is this real life?

[kamil]

They played great against the Mighty East....

[ArbitraryWater]

thats ridiculous... felt bad but that bad? People who still wanna play the blame LeBron card need to get a ****ing reality check.

[BigTicket]

Incredible stat. Part of that is just bad luck, but still.

[Droid101]

They played great against the Mighty East....

East is stacked apparently.

[Done_And_Done]

Didn't seem to be much of a problem in the 3 rounds prior

[Magic 32]

When Iguodala was in, LeBron shot 38% and the Cavs were -55. When he sat, LeBron shot 44% and the Cavs were +30 - ESPN

That's the real difference maker right there.

[Stu Jackson]

nobody said his teammates didnt suck or could create their own looks

it balances out he let his team down in 2011 so his team let him down the last two years

[lilteapot]

Yeah we all know his teammates sucked.

[KnittingRyu]

Damn the East is so pathetic.

[Lebronxrings]

sad. What a pathetic cast. Even mj and shaq couldn't win with this trash out on the floor. Feel bad.

[Lebronxrings]

East is stacked apparently.

60 win hawks, stacked bulls, young upcoming celtics>>>> newbie pelicans, injured grizzlies, and rockets.

[SouBeachTalents]

60 win hawks, stacked bulls, young upcoming celtics>>>> newbie pelicans, injured grizzlies, and rockets.

If the East is so stacked, why did LeBron lose more games against the Warriors than he did against the entire Eastern Conference? Ditto 2014

[20Four]

thats ridiculous... felt bad but that bad? People who still wanna play the blame LeBron card need to get a ****ing reality check.

Look at this peasant talking lol

[3ball]

@tomhaberstroh: Without LeBron James on the floor this series.
JR Smith 0/9 FG
Delly 0/7 FG
J. Jones 0/3 FG
Shumpert 0/2 FG
Total 0/21 FG

[COLOR="blue"]Ask yourself the question - are JR Smith, Timofey Mosgov, Tristan Thompson and Iman Shumpert worse than role players on other teams?[/COLOR]

Of course not - they are solid role players that are equal or even superior talent-wise to guys like Patty Mills, Boris Diaw, Harrison Barnes or Shaun Livingston.

[COLOR="blue"]So why is the story always how Lebron's supporting cast underperformed?[/COLOR]... How come less talented role players on other teams DON'T underperform - i.e. guys like Steve Kerr, John Paxson, Bill Wennington... Or the role players for the Warriors or Spurs?

[COLOR="blue"]The answer is simple[/COLOR] - the offense of Lebron's teams is not built for teammates to make decisions - it's built for teammates to become ACCUSTOMED to Lebron making all the decisions.. Lebron's low-assisted, PG style from the SF position is highly suboptimal and locks his team into a brand of basketball where he makes all the decisions on offense - when Lebron is ON the floor, his teammates are just tricks waiting on Lebron to toss them a dime.. It's no surprise that when he leaves the floor, they collapse.

This is a stark contrast to the NBA's elite teams, who run more optimal, "equal opportunity" offenses that REQUIRE role players to make playmaking decisions at all times, while the star player is on the floor.. Guys like Diaw and Patty Mills don't just wait around for Duncan to toss them a dime - instead, Mills and Diaw are tasked with making plays just like Parker and Duncan are - ditto for guys like Shaun Livingston or Barnes.. So when Duncan or Curry leaves the floor, the role players just continue what they've been doing - making offensive decisions - they don't have to go from tricks waiting for Duncan toss them a dime, to playmakers all of sudden when Duncan goes to the bench - they can just continue being playmakers like they were when Duncan was on the floor.

And ditto for everyone that played in the triangle - the triangle was an equal-opportunity offense, as Phil Jackson describes here.. Every player got the chance to catch it on the post, turn-pivot, explore all the options and make a play - the lesser players like Kerr and Longley normally handed off, but they had the power to make a play if they chose.

Consequently, role players like Mills, Diaw, Kerr, and Longley play better and have a bigger impact than their more talented Cavs counterparts (shumpert, jr smith, mosgov, tristan thompson), who are just tricks waiting on Lebron to toss them a dime.. That brand of basketball has never won, and never will win..