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January 28, 2015The narrative always favors the new guys. Team records, in this instance, aren’t doing many favors. But as guys like Steph Curry and James Harden are getting the majority of the attention in the NBA MVP race, LeBron James, a four-time winner, is slowly but surely making his case. David Blatt, his head coach, has emerged as James’ chief lobbyist.
“[It’s] just kind of funny, to be honest with you,” Blatt said prior to the team’s in over Detroit. “First of all, he’s the greatest player in our game, and he’s had, since he’s been healthy—and really all year, but particularly since he’s been healthy—his performance has been as high level as ever. And you don’t have to look very far at our record to see what impact he has on this team when he’s playing and not playing.”
That record Blatt speaks of comes in the way of the team’s losing ways when James is off of the court. With LeBron in the lineup, the team is 25-12. While the 30-year-old forward was nursing back and knee ailments, the team was 1-8. Since returning from his two-week hiatus, James is averaging 30.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 2.0 steals, numbers that would not only (if extrapolated) would put him well ahead of James Harden for the scoring title, but would effectively match the numbers he put up during the majority of his other MVP campaigns.
In that win over Detroit, James carried the bulk of the load (along with teammate Kyrie Irving), finishing with 32 points, seven assists, six rebounds and a steal.
With James on the court this season, the Cavaliers have offensive rating of 113.8; without him, they’re at 104.1. Defensively, the team has been impacted as well, allowing 111.8 points per hundred possessions and only scoring 106.4. Factoring these together and James and the Cavs have a net rating of 15.4. For comparison purposes, Houston’s Harden has a net rating of 12.1. Golden State’s Curry has been a part of one of the league’s most dominant teams, but doing so alongside a player who’s won as many Player of the Week awards as James in Klay Thompson. Sure, James has his own star teammates, but when it comes to value, the record would show otherwise.
“Certainly it does say something about what his value is when he is absent, what happens to the team,” Blatt continued. “But again, it’s of course what his impact on his own team but it’s also the performance that that player is having relative to the rest of the league. Obviously if we look at our own example [in James], then you’re looking at an MVP player in every respect. Which is not new news to anyone.”
As noted by ESPN.com’s Dave McMenamin, winning a fifth MVP would tie James with Michael Jordan and Bill Russell for the second-most in league history, one behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. It’ll take a huge run by the Cavs given their current standing within the East, but if they get back into the top three, it will undoubtedly be because of James. Like Blatt says, t may merely make for the same, boring story of the best player in the world dominating and winning yet another award, but hey—who are we to get in the way of a good story?
3 Comments
Attaboy, David, way to learn the NBA. All coaches, great and small, must push their players for league honors. It may not win many brownie points with a guy who’s won everything repeatedly, but not to do it would itself be noticed by someone soon enough – Maverick, Paul, Gloria …
Don’t have to fully bend over and drown him in smarm, like thanking him for letting you coach him. But this you must do, at least bi-weekly until season’s end. Put a tickler on your calendar, have a team flunkie hand you a note as you sit down for the post-game pressers, whatever works to keep your neck out of the guillotine.
Yes, promotion is part of the coaching job from high school all the way up. Good job by Blatt. Next on the list is a few more unprompted mentions of Kyrie to boost his All Star chances.
I totally agree with you. I think if Kyrie Irving steps up his performance when LeBron James is off the court and also make some effort he to might be able to be one day a top 5 candidate for the M.V.P. Maybe not this year