James Turns It Up

 

At the All Star break, many NBA observers were saying that LeBron James was not playing up to the spectacular pace he had set in his first three years in the league.  He looked tired, disinterested, perhaps injured.  He didn’t look like the same player who took the NBA by storm since coming out of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School.  Since returning from Las Vegas however, The King is back, and with a vengence.

 

In the six games since the All Star weekend, James has averaged 32.8 points per game, scoring at least 29 in each of those contests.  He is shooting 52.9%, and still finding time to get 5 rebounds and 5 assists per night in those outings.  The only negative is the wine and gold’s 3-3 record in that span.  The losses were to three playoff teams in the Heat, Bulls, and the team with the league’s best record, the Dallas Mavericks. 

 

Some talking heads on ESPN suggested that LeBron perhaps is treating the season like he did playoff games last spring.  That is to say, he laid low in the first half before taking over the games in the second half.  Based on the these first six games after the break, it’s hard to argue that point.  Not only is his production up, but his style of play has changed as well.  He’s brought back the attacking James we saw in his first three years.  He’s taking the ball to the hoop on a more consistent basis, and that’s the best part of his game.  Hopefully, this trend continues for the rest of the campaign.

 

Another good thing we saw this weekend was first round draft pick Shannon Brown getting some playing time.  It took an injury to Daniel Gibson for it to happen, but Brown received some meaningful minutes against the Mavs and Raptors.  He actually played three days in a row because the Cavs sent him to play one game in the D League on Friday.  Maybe Coach Mike Brown finally had enough of David Wesley when he clanked a lay up off the bottom of the backboard in Dallas.

 

The emerging problem that is Drew Gooden continues to be puzzling.  The starting power forward’s production continues to wane.  Gooden is scoring just 4.5 points a night since the All Star game.  He has picked off 7 rebounds per game, but 13 of them were in the first game back after the break against the Raptors.  He is being outplayed on a nightly basis by Anderson Varajao.  The Brazilian is a better defender, better rebounder, and more consistent.  Why isn’t he in the starting line up?  The only thing I can think of is superstition, which isn’t a very good reason.

 

Here’s hoping the Cavs don’t get three point happy after they shot the lights out from behind the line on Saturday night.  This team functions better when they get the ball inside, not when they play one pass and then a three pointer.  Donyell Marshall has had maybe two nights this year when he was on fire with the three ball.  That’s two games out of 57.  Not a real good percentage.  The wine and gold need to put their last game behind them when the take the floor against the Rockets tonight.  Houston blew out the Nuggets in Denver last week, so they are not a team who fears playing on the road.  The Cavs need to get some momentum going, and they can start the wheels in motion with a solid performance tonight.

 

JK