LeBron James has played all but 22 minutes of a possible 250 so far in the NBA Finals, and for good reason. As it turns out, when LeBron is on the bench, the Cavaliers are pretty much the worst basketball team ever.
Per http://t.co/kzLg9M1fZ6, Cleveland’s O in the 22 minutes LBJ hasn’t played in Finals: 18.2 FG%, 00.0 3pt%, 54.6 pts/100 poss, -39.2 net.
— Dan McCarney (@danmccarneySAEN) June 15, 2015
In the past, this is where we’d cue up the “LeBron needs more help!” chorus, but this isn’t 2007. LeBron’s “help” — Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving — is sitting in street clothes. The good news is LeBron is having the series of a lifetime, averaging 36.6 points, 12.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists — with two triple-doubles — in the absence of his fellow All-Stars, and is single-handedly keeping the Cavs in the series. The bad news is it’s out of necessity, and he may need to start going the full 48 if the Cavs want to have a shot at overcoming a 3-2 series deficit.
Of course, that brings about even more bad news: the entire Cavs team (including LeBron) has completely worn down in the fourth quarters of Games 4 and 5, leading to consecutive double-digit wins for the Warriors.
[Uproxx, image: Eric Risberg/AP]
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