LeBron James had an insane regular season for a player this deep into his career. We all focused on the gaudy numbers of Russell Westbrook and James Harden, but LeBron was right there in terms of impact on the court. The Cavaliers were not their best selves, and some of us foolishly doubted they had another level given that LeBron was already at his peak.
LeBron James sent another team off into an identity crisis
Good morning. We have that and more in Monday’s NBA newsletter.
Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images
Man, that was really foolish.
The Cavaliers swept the hell out of the Raptors on Sunday, as LeBron was again unstoppable. He averaged 36-8-5 for the series and shot 57 percent. For the playoffs, he’s at 34-9-7 on 56 percent shooting. The Cavs are 8-0. Cleveland won’t play again until May 15 at the earliest — that means a week of rest is coming.
DeMar DeRozan said in his shell-shocked postgame press conference that the Raptors would have won if they’d had LeBron. Well, yes. They would have. He’s a cheat code. He’s an aberration. He is still the alpha and omega of this league. He can be beaten — he is 3-4 in the Finals, after all — but you actually have to beat him. LeBron isn’t doing the job for you.
Playoff Scores ...
Cavaliers 109, Raptors 102 (CLE wins 4-0)
Celtics 102, Wizards 121 (Series tied 2-2)
Spurs 104, Rockets 125 (Series tied 2-2)
... And Links Galore
You know who had a game on Sunday? The danged Houston Rockets! James Harden was electric and Houston was its best self as the Rockets blew out the Spurs and tied up their series. When this team is shooting like this and getting stops, they are very hard to beat.
You know who else had a game on Sunday? The Washington Wizards! John Wall started 0 for 9 from the floor, shrugged it off but kept shooting and finished with 27 points, 12 assists, and five steals. Those steals were critical during a 26-0 run the Wizards had in the third quarter to put the game away. Yes, a 26-0 run. And they had a 22-0 run earlier in the series!
So here’s the state of our series:
- The Celtics (1) and Wizards (4) are knotted up 2-2.
- The Cavaliers (2) got the Raptors (3) up outta here.
- The Warriors (1) can launch the Jazz (5) into the summer on Monday.
- The Spurs (2) and Rockets (3) are knotted up 2-2.
That Warriors-Jazz game is at 9 p.m. ET on TNT.
What do the Raptors do now? They just inked DeMar DeRozan to a huge contract. Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka are free agents. They can’t exactly blow it up, but they can’t touch the Cavaliers.
Here’s what Zach Lowe says about the potential end of the Raptors as we know them.
Isaiah Thomas didn’t get a single free throw in Game 4, a source of postgame anger. He took just five of his 14 shots at the rim.
The National Basketball Coaches Association voted on their own Coach of the Year award in honor of the late Michael H. Goldberg. Mike D’Antoni and Erik Spoelstra will share the award. Deserving winners.
The San Antonio Express-News sent Charles Barkley some churros.
Reminder: Damian Lillard is the nicest dude in the NBA. He convinced his teammates to donate their playoff bonuses to traveling support staff.
And finally: Boban Marjanovic on a giant, very cool inflatable duck.
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