As the Cleveland Cavaliers moped off the court Tuesday night -- heads down, shoulders slumped -- LeBron James waited with his arms extended. He slapped five with each and every one of his deflated teammates, a gesture that screamed typical LeBron. "The King" was playing for the cameras, as always, but I don't think many of us were buying the fake camaraderie.
To the contrary of his outward behavior, I wonder, is LeBron to blame for the Cavs' finger-pointing and overall dysfunction?
Before I dive into this abyss, let's get one thing straight: LeBron is the reason the Cavs have reached the Eastern Conference Finals. He's the reason they swept a better all-around team in the Raptors. So, I'm not questioning his on-court value, and I never would.
The questions here are...has LeBron pumped his teammates full of confidence? Has he welcomed Jordan Clarkson, Rodney Hood, George Hill and Larry Nance? As the GM, head coach, leader and face of the franchise, has he gone the extra mile to make sure Koby Altman's acquisitions settled into comfortable roles within Cleveland's offense? What about simply teaching them how to play off his penetration and one-on-one playmaking?
Tuesday Hood played 11 minutes. Same for Nance. Hill scored 3 points in 33 minutes and last but not least...Clarkson was a DNP Coach's Decision!
I mean seriously, how can that be? In just 29 minutes per game last season, Clarkson averaged 15 points for the Baby Lakers. The athletic young guard shot roughly 45% from the floor and 80% from the line. For most of his career, he's been an aggressive offensive performer with sneaky explosiveness off the bounce. That very same player is averaging 5.1 PPG this postseason on 32% FG shooting.
How can you get so much worse, playing with the best basketball player in the world? An unselfish on-court player, no less. Something isn't adding up, here.
On February 11, in Clarkson's first game with the Cavs, he went 7-of-11 with 17 points in just 23 minutes. He connected on 3-of-4 from downtown, while chipping in 3 rebounds and 2 steals. The Cavs played with a ton of energy that night, and LeBron made a concerted effort to seek out both Clarkson and Hood. The latter left-hander drilled 6-of-11 for 15 points, 3 threes and 3 rebounds. In these playoffs, Hood is averaging 4.9 points and shooting 11% from three.
So what the hell happened to these kids? Hood was considered a primary scorer for a Jazz playoff team. Clarkson was a go-to one-on-one creator for the Lakers. Why have they dissipated into thin air playing alongside LeBron?
Of course, one explanation is that they are choking. Maybe they can't handle the scrutiny of a team that gets national TV exposure and daily hot takes from industry pundits. Maybe LeBron's reputation alone is too much for them to handle. But I don't know. I saw a lot of potential in their very first game with the Cavs.
They CRUSHED the Celtics 121-99 that night. And Kyrie Irving was out there and healthy for the Celtics at that point. The Cavs were the darlings of media coverage the next day. "GM" Altman was getting plenty of positive buzz. Everyone was saying it was Cleveland's conference to lose.
Something is different now. Hood played his way out of the rotation, eventually leading to his refusal to enter a playoff game at garbage time. That's bush league, and has nothing to do with LeBron -- I personally think Hood should have been suspended by the team for the remainder of the playoffs -- but why have things devolved to this point? Why haven't Clarkson or Hood received the touches they had on night one in a Cleveland uniform?
In the end, the players have to perform. They may not like their roles or lack of rhythm touches, but you have to play well if you want an expanded role.
The problem for LeBron, Tyronn Lue and their Cavs is that this isn't the best possible version of their team. Right now they are leaning on veterans who will do an adequate job -- Kyle Korver, Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith -- but they didn't unload Isaiah Thomas, Dwyane Wade, Jae Crowder and Derrick Rose to get NOTHING in return.
One would think LeBron, Lue and Altman would want to conjure ways to make Clarkson, Hood and Nance integral parts of their steady rotation. That just hasn't happened. And we know LeBron has a history of taking the credit when things are going well, then throwing his teammates under the bus when they aren't.
The Warriors and Celtics thrive on positive energy passed from the front office down to the coaching staff and through the players. Everyone keeps each other upbeat. Positive plays are rewarded; negative plays are forgotten.
That's not the way it goes with LeBron. It wasn't like that with Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant, either. Some stars expect greatness, and berate anything below it.
Clarkson, Hood and Nance probably would have been better off in a more welcoming "team" environment, but that's just not the situation they are in. And they haven't made the best of it.
Can this hodgepodge group of misfit toys put it together in Game 3?
I guess we'll have to wait and see.
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