Could LeBron Be Part of the Problem?
To start off, I want to say that I love LeBron. I will always love him and appreciate everything he has done for our city. However, with the struggles that the Cavs have been facing and since we’re currently down two games against a Celtics team without their two best players, I have to look outside the box for a possible reason. In that case, I am taking a look at the leader of our team, LeBron.
You might be saying, “LeBron is the only reason we are where we are,” or “just look at the stat lines he puts up every night compared to the rest of the team.” I fully agree with what you are saying and I feel the same way. Throughout these playoffs, he is averaging 33.4 points per game, 9.2 rebounds a game, 9.2 assists per game and shooting a 54% field-goal percentage. These numbers are obviously insane. No one else is helping him out besides a standout game from Kyle Korver or Kevin Love here and there.
So, how could LeBron be part of the problem?
For the majority of LeBron’s career, everyone has praised him for how he makes everyone around him a better player. In 2007, he was able to lead a team of nobodies, besides Zydrunas Ilgauskas, to the NBA Finals. The team he currently has around him is top-to-bottom better than in 2007. On top of that, LeBron is better now and faced a better team in the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals. This is where I see a problem. What is wrong with this team that they aren’t reaching their potential, even with LeBron on the team? This team has so much talent but are struggling to excel. I expected that LeBron would be able to take all of these players to their full potential and I haven’t seen that happen yet.
Furthermore, if LeBron would have guaranteed that he would be staying with the Cavs after this season, our team could have looked a lot different. Potentially, the front office would have dealt the first-round pick in order to have a better roster. All of our success is due to LeBron, but his chance for a title would have been higher if he would have told Dan Gilbert he was staying.
In 2016, the team that won the championship was extremely close. I don’t know if I see that anymore. Yes, I know, it’s pretty tough to do that when half the team is new. Knowing that you would think they would work on getting closer and building as a team. Seeing that I’m not with the team though, what do I know?
I still think LeBron is the GOAT, but as the leader of this team, I expect him to step up and help to bring the team to their full potential. I hope that we can see the rest of the team show up in Game 3 by LeBron making them a part of it.
Image: ESPN
