Here’s 2 plays where LeBron James just stops trying on defense

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ defense has been apocalyptic, reaching what seems like a new low on each consecutive night they take the floor. On Tuesday, they even allowed Jonathon Simmons to score 22 points in a single quarter, which is ... yikes.

There are myriad reasons why Cleveland has been so bad, but LeBron James’ effort has been a significant one. If you thought the embarrassing defeat on Tuesday to the Magic would change anything, or even fielding questions about whether James would waive his no-trade clause on Wednesday might spark more effort, then you’d be surprise. There were at least two egregious examples where James just isn’t doing enough.

Here they are.

We can probably assume this was an ICE pick-and-roll coverage, where LeBron James hedges high on the screen in an attempt to force the ball handler into waiting Cavaliers defense, but Cedi Osman doesn’t follow through. (Cleveland rarely runs ICE, but it seems more likely that Osman messed up than James.) Given that, this isn’t quite as bad as it looks.

But James’ reaction to Butler’s drive past him is slow, and he barely attempts to recover defensively, basically jogging back while Butler ends up passing out of an open layup. My theory is Butler felt it would have been morally wrong to take advantage that bad, and his conscience made him pass to Tyus Jones in the corner. (Jones misses, and somehow the Cavaliers get out of this possession unscathed.)

Here’s a simpler pick-and-roll coverage, where James shows hard to theoretically give time for Isaiah Thomas to recover to his man. Thomas ... doesn’t. He gets stuck behind the Wiggins pick. James turns around, but he never adjusts to Thomas and never even looks back to Teague, who buries the triple.

James’ teammates let him down on both plays, to be certain. Osman runs the wrong coverage — he’s a rookie, after all — and Thomas gets stuck on a pick horribly.

But James’ effort after those mistakes from his teammates is not just sloppy or lacking, but nearly nonexistent. Look, it’s tiring to constantly be making up for your teammates, and James is carrying an enormous load on the other end, too. But James used to do just that, which is why he made six straight All-Defensive teams between 2009 and 2014.

Once again, I should repeat that this hideous Cleveland defense is not a James-only problem, even on these egregious examples. Perfect effort from James would only some solve problems, and it’s probably best he isn’t fully exerting himself until April. His numbers are down since 2018 began, but he’s still the best player in the world who’s putting forth an MVP-level offensive performance this season. In this very game, he hits the overtime buzzer beater to cap off a 37-point triple-double. On the previous play, he even had a weak-side block — proof his help defense can be there when the Cavaliers desperately need it.

But the unavoidable truth is that the Cavaliers defense does have a James problem right now, and there’s no getting around that.