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Cleveland Cavaliers Need More Efficient LeBron James To Force Game 7

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LeBron James Draymond Green 2015 NBA Finals

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

LeBron James needs to step up his game. I know this may sound weird to say about a guy who is putting up triple-doubles on a regular basis and is the center of a massive national media admiration party, but hear me out.

While LeBron’s passing and activity on the glass have been undeniably incredible, his efficiency on the offensive end and his defensive effort have left much to be desired; consequently, his Cleveland Cavaliers find themselves staring down a 3-2 deficit to a Golden State Warriors team that appears to be hitting its stride.

First and foremost, his shooting efficiency has been, to put it bluntly, terrible through much of the first five games. Part of the problem has been his shot selection (too many turn-around jumpers from the post), but much of it is also due to dreadful shooting. He’s making under a quarter of his three-point attempts this postseason, yet is still attempting over five a game.  Many point to a Russell Westbrook-esque 41.3 percent usage rate (counted as the total percentage of possessions that end in a player’s shot attempt, assist, or turnover while he is on the floor) as an excuse, but the fact of the matter is LeBron is no stranger to a heavy offensive burden. A sub 40 percent field goal percentage for a guy who has in the recent past combined massive volume and top notch efficiency is inexcusable.

Similarly, his defense has been subpar for long stretches of games all series. He’s frequently caught watching the ball, allowing easy looks for his man â€” usually Andre Iguodala — but his most damaging habit has been tardiness on his rotations. Golden State has been killing the Cavs on makeshift 4-on-3 situations when Draymond Green catches the ball near the elbow after the Cavs jump out and double Stephen Curry ball-screens, and a big reason why has been LeBron missing rotations on the weak-side. The common rationale that he has been conserving his energy on defense in order to carry the offense is overblown; if you’re a perennial All-Defense caliber talent playing in the NBA Finals, you can be bothered to play both ends of the court.

To those still wanting to give LeBron a pass on both ends of the ball for good effort, I say this: through five games this series, Cleveland’s LeBron centric offense has only mustered an offensive rating of 99.5 (points per 100 possessions) which would have ranked 27th in the NBA during the regular season. In other words, their offense has stunk, and while Golden State’s defense deserves some of the credit, the onus ultimately falls on the self-proclaimed “best player in the world”. If he wants to avoid elimination, he’ll have to start living up to that lofty title.

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