NBA Scores And More: LeBron James Returns To Cleveland And Shows No Mercy To Cavs
LeBron had his best game as a member of the Heat in his return to Cleveland to face the Cavaliers, as the Heat dominated James’ old team, 118-90.
The big lesson we learned from Thursday night's Heat-Cavaliers game was that no matter the reason, never hype up a game between a very talented team and a not-so-talented team. LeBron James and the Miami Heat went back to his old stomping grounds and laid a whooping on his former squad.
We really didn't learn much from this game. Cavalier fans can do corny chants insulting LeBron, which did nothing but get him fired up. The Heat did what they have done all season: beat up on lower level competition. Against teams .500 or above Miami is 2-7, when the Heat take on teams below .500 they are 10-1. If LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh put together a similar performance next time they play at Boston I will be impressed.
Since this night was all about The King let’s take a closer look at his performance.
It was easily LeBron’s best game of the season with an impressive 38 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists on 15-25 shooting. More importantly James did not have one turnover.
As the pattern has been all season LeBron played better after Wade was removed by Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra at the 3:34 mark in the first quarter. Almost immediately following Wade taking a seat on the bench James had one of his patented reverse lay-ups and it seemed like from that point forward his intensity picked up.
In the third quarter LeBron and Wade finally had success together. James exploded for 24 points and the Heat did a tremendous job of creating turnovers leading to them getting the ball in the open court where LeBron and Wade used their elite athleticism to run the Cavs out of the gym.
My favorite play of the game for the Heat came with just under 11 minutes in the third. Wade had the ball on the left wing with LeBron and Zydrunas Ilgauskas standing next to each other wide of the right elbow. Carlos Arroyo came up behind LeBron setting a back screen on Stephen Graham creating space for LeBron as he cut under the hoop. Wade fed LBJ the ball, LBJ pump faked getting Graham to leave his feet and set himself up for an easy lay-up. This is the type of off ball activity the Heat need to partake in on a regular basis.
At this point I am going to nitpick a little bit. I do this because I truly believe LeBron James has the talent to be the greatest basketball player I have ever seen (I am too young to really remember Magic and Bird, but do remember Jordan). His true potential will never be reached if he continues to settle for three-point shots. James was 15-25 from the field, but he was 2-7 from three. Here is a quick look at all seven attempts.
- 1. Eight seconds left on the shot clock and was facing single coverage from Joey Graham. James settled instead of trying to attack the basket. He missed the attempt.
- 2. LeBron was in the left corner and received a hand off from Bosh. Bosh's man Anderson Varejao was to LeBron's right and Bosh had LeBron's man partially pinned. James settled for three with 10 seconds left on shot clock and it went in. This was not a good shot; LeBron easily could have attacked the basket with Boobie Gibson being the only man underneath.
- 3. Right corner with 17 seconds left on the shot clock. Another miss.
- 4. Top of the key 13 seconds left on the shot clock. Miss.
- 5. Wade runs a pick-and-roll with Joel Anthony on the left wing. They draw Jawad Williams, who is guarding LeBron towards the foul line. Wade kicks it out to LeBron on the right wing as he steps into his three-point attempt in rhythm and bangs it. I had no problem with this shot.
- 6. Off an inbounds pass, LeBron chucks up a three with Ryan Hollins in his face from a foot behind the line. Twelve seconds left on the shot clock, not a good attempt.
- 7. Got stuck with the ball as the shot clock winding down and to force up a three that didn't hit the rim. Nothing LeBron could do in this situation.
There is no reason for LeBron to ever take seven three-pointers in a game. He is too big, strong and fast to settle for these shots.
That is enough of my whining.
From the Blogs: Fear the Sword thought LeBron’s former teammates were too nice to him and Peninsula is Mightier believed the game was put away in the third quarter.
Highlights: LeBron drops 38.
It was an ugly first half featuring 17 turnovers. I wanted to puke while watching it so were just going to skip that part of the game.
The second half was what I expected out a Warriors-Suns game. Monta Ellis did whatever he wanted, but Phoenix was the better team and came away with the victory.
Ellis scored 22 of his 38 points in the second half as he tried to will the Warriors to victory. In the end it was the Phoenix bench and a couple of mental lapses on the defensive end by Golden State as the shot clock was expiring that did them in.
Going into the fourth quarter the Suns had a 75-72 lead. With a line-up of Goran Dragic, Josh Childress, Jared Dudley, Hedo Turkoglu and Channing Frye, Phoenix expanded its lead to 93-79. But Golden State didn't go away and made the game interesting.
Time for the mental mistakes:
- 1. Coming off an Ellis turnover, the Warriors trailed by five with around 1:30 left in the game. As the shot clock was winding down Ellis was guarding Jason Richardson, and Ellis reached for a steal. Monta lost his balance, allowing Richardson to drain an uncontested 15-footer as the shot clock expired. Ellis did not need to reach in that situation. The best move was to play straight-up defense and force J-Rich to take a tougher shot.
- 2. Following two David Lee free throws to cut the Suns lead back down to five, Golden State had a solid defensive possession. With one second left on the shot clock and 40 seconds left in the game, instead of letting Grant Hill take an off-balance 17-footer Dorell Wright reaches in and fouls Hill as he attempts the shot.
If Golden State plays those possessions correctly do they win the game? Not necessarily, but this is the type of play this young team will need to avoid if they want any chance of staying in the playoff hunt.
From the Blogs: Bright Side of the Sun thought the game had Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde feel while Golden State of Mind was not happy with the Warriors’ offensive performance.
Play of the Game: Nasty Monta Ellis crossover and lay-up
