CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Washington Wizards did plenty of talking leading up to Friday night's game. LeBron James tends to let his game speak for him.
It did. Emphatically.
On one historic night, while matching the franchise record with 57 points, James also sent a clear message to the squad that fancies itself as the Cleveland Cavaliers' biggest Eastern Conference challenger: No matter the early-season struggles and how vulnerable, the road to the NBA Finals still goes through Cleveland.
It's the kind of statement that may still linger when the postseason arrives, the same one sent to the new-look Boston Celtics on Opening Night and the upstart Milwaukee Bucks in their home opener.
Back in May, Washington shooting guard Bradley Beal said the Cavaliers didn't want to see the Wizards in the playoffs. He doubled down on that statement hours before tipoff Friday night.
"I feel like we're the best team," Beal said on ESPN's The Jump when asked by ex-teammate Paul Pierce where the Wizards fall in the East hierarchy. "I always stand by it. Why would I sit here and say another team is better than my team? I'm not gonna sit here and do that. I've got confidence in myself and my teammates and what we can accomplish."
Then came John Wall, who admitted the Wizards smelled blood going into the highly anticipated showdown.
"I think they didn't want the No. 1 seed for a reason," Wall said. "Because we would have played them in the second round. I think they wanted to see us in the Eastern Conference finals and we fell one game short of that. I think we give them the best matchup of any team in the East."
It's November, not May. But in the nation's capital, Friday had been circled for quite some time.
The Wizards had all their pieces. Markieff Morris was making his season debut after sports hernia surgery. The core of the team that lost Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, falling one game short of that crack at the Cavs, was brought back for another go-around. It was a home game, a few days removed from a lengthy West Coast road trip.
Cleveland, on the other hand, was scuffling, riding a four-game losing streak while in the midst of James' worst stretch.
The revamped Cavs were without rotation players Tristan Thompson and Iman Shumpert, staring at the possibility of having to use not-yet-ready Cedi Osman and Ante Zizic. Following Wednesday's frustrating loss against the Indiana Pacers, players repeatedly spoke about looking for the right lineup combinations and still working through communication issues. Head coach Tyronn Lue lamented his team not being in the best shape and spoke about the jelling that still needed to take place.
Friday was Washington's shot. And the result was awfully familiar -- too much James.
If the Wizards can't take advantage of a wounded Cavs team, one that's still searching for answers, then what happens at full strength? What would make a postseason series any different?
Beating the Cavs in the playoffs starts with James. Any team with a chance needs a defender or two capable of containing him. That's all that can really be asked. After all, he's far too talented to be stopped.
If Friday is a precursor, the Wizards have no shot.
Head coach Scott Brooks tried John Wall. Too small. James scored 16 of his 57 with Wall as the primary defender. The Wizards tried feisty Kelly Oubre Jr., whose length and intensity usually bothers opponents. He wasn't ready, getting attacked in isolation situations, surrendering 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting. Otto Porter Jr. provided little resistance. Even Beal tried. No luck.
In all, the Wizards used eight defenders. James got whatever he wanted, when he wanted.
He raced by helpless Wizards in transition, plowed his way into the paint -- scoring 32 points inside -- launched picturesque fadeaways over tinier defenders and canned a pair of triples when Washington tried to sag off him. Much of his damage came on post-ups, going 7-of-10 from the field on those shots while showing the growth of his game.
"Pretty much feel like they would rather me score than share the ball," James told reporters after the game. "It's kind of pick your poison because my guys are shooting the ball extremely well tonight as well, and I guess they'd figure at some point tonight I'd miss. I did, I missed 11 shots."
Fifty-seven points on 23-of-34 from the field. Twenty-three points in one-on-one situations. James created, assisted or scored 78 of Cleveland's 130 points.
When the Cavs needed a lift, a response to a Wizards run, James was there, sometimes not even allowing his teammates to touch the ball on a few late possessions where he dribbled repeatedly, backed down his defender and scored.
Yes, James remains the Cavs lifeboat, the ultimate trump card that can be played at any time. When everything else fails, they go back to their iso-heavy offense, unleashing the league's best.
The Wizards had no answers. But they shouldn't feel that bad. Neither did a pair of other contenders.
In each game against the supposed best of the conference, James swatted them away.
On Opening Night, as many were raving about the Celtics' off-season additions, the Cavs trailed by three late in the fourth quarter against old teammate Kyrie Irving. Then James grabbed the game by the throat and scored or assisted on seven of the final nine points, securing the victory.
Against Milwaukee a few days later, with all the chatter surrounding Bucks phenom Giannis Antetokounmpo and his early MVP candidacy, the four-time winner of that award spearheaded a third-quarter surge to turn a tight matchup into a double-digit Cavaliers lead.
Looking like the old Cavs, James' orchestrated the offense, surrounded by shooters, and scored or assisted on 13 straight points during the brilliant stretch.
He did it again Friday, setting the tone early.
Boston. Milwaukee. Washington. James -- and Cleveland -- has taken all of them down. Again. As if to say, "Not yet. This is what stands in your way."
Yes, the Cavs' problems still exist -- even after Friday's signature win. The defense was once again a sieve, posting a rating worse than their season mark, dropping them to the very bottom of the league. They don't share the ball like some of the other top teams, recording just 20 assists on 46 made shots. There are still spacing questions with a backcourt featuring Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade.
Eventually it would be nice to not need one of James' best career performances, him playing 43 minutes and the entire second half, to end a losing skid.
The 130-122 win wasn't perfect. And it doesn't change some of the baffling losses.
But with James leading the way, the Cavs showed that they still have that extra gear, that different level that no other East team has been able to reach.
The Raptors were the other perceived threat before the season began. Look out, Toronto. James will be coming on Jan. 11.
No comments:
Post a Comment