LeBron James might be the best player on the planet, but he wasn’t the best player on the court Sunday in Cleveland.
That honor belonged to Kyrie Irving, James’ Cavaliers teammate. The point guard led the Cavs with a game-high 30 points in his NBA playoff debut — a 113-100 win over the Boston Celtics —Â becoming the first Cleveland player to do so since 2007, when James made his playoff debut.
Let’s take a closer look at LeBron’s afternoon.
STAT LINE
James tallied 20 points, seven assists, six rebounds, two steals and one block. He also collected three fouls and turned the ball over twice in 41:55 of playing time.
James shot 44 percent from the field (8-of-18), including 1-of-3 on 3-pointers, and hit three of his four free-throw attempts. The fact James only attempted four free throws says a lot about a Celtics defense that struggled to guard seemingly everyone else.
SHINING MOMENT
OK, so we’ve seen this countless times in LeBron’s career, but it’s just a reminder of the guy’s freakish athleticism and ability to take over a game at the drop of a dime.
It was a bit of a momentum-killer, too, as the Celtics were in the middle of mounting a furious comeback.
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There also was a semi-controversial play in the first quarter, in which LeBron blocked an Isaiah Thomas layup.
To be a goaltend, the shot must have finished its arc and be on the way down. Even in slow motion, it’s tough to tell if James got to the ball a split-second too late or a split-second too early.
THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN
The general consensus seemed to be that LeBron could’ve been better.
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Not that anyone in Cleveland cared.
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The scary part? Even when LeBron is bad, he’s good.
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CROWNING THE KING
Overall grade: C-plus
LeBron is the type of player whose intangibles won’t necessarily show up on the scoresheet but will change a game. This isn’t new, but he still found ways to impact Sunday’s Game 1 win. His leadership, which corrals egos like those of J.R. Smith, demands focus, and he’s not afraid to call out people on anything — even sloppy attire.
Still, maybe Cleveland only needs LeBron to score 20 points. To say this Cavaliers team is incredibly talented would be an understatement. It helps when Irving has a heat-check type of game and Kevin Love pitches in an impressive double-double.
That said, it was a really mediocre game from LeBron, despite flirting with a triple-double. He seemingly coasted through the second half, in which he scored just seven points. His lackadaisical performance is underscored by his pedestrian +3 plus/minus rating, by far the lowest among Cavs starters. Kevin Love was a game-high +15, followed closely by Timofey Mozgov’s +13. The other four Cavs starters combined to post a +48.
Should LeBron have this type of performance again in the series and his teammates falter, it’s more than conceivable that the Celtics could steal a game or two. The Cavaliers escaped Sunday, but they can’t expect to continue doing so if LeBron doesn’t show up.
Thumbnail image via David Richard/USA TODAY Sports Images
