BOSTON — Defending LeBron James is the most difficult task in the NBA. The four-time league MVP’s unique blend of strength, athleticism, basketball intelligence and raw skill probably has never been seen in any player before him.
The Boston Celtics had the unenviable challenge of stopping James on Tuesday night at TD Garden and couldn’t, as he scored a game-high 24 points on 10-of-20 shooting, grabbed seven rebounds and added three assists and two steals in his Cleveland Cavaliers’ 89-77 win.
“Defensively, I knew they were going to play a lot of straight up, allow Jae (Crowder) to do what he needs to do defensively and try to make it tough on me,” James said after the Cavs’ first meeting with the Celtics since their intense first-round playoff series last spring. “I just took the approach not to take too many jumpers tonight. I think I took three or four, maybe, and I was well-balanced and got to my 50 percent (from the field). I’m pretty happy about that.”
Celtics coach Brad Stevens was asked before the game about the ideal way to defend James and noted keeping him out of the paint is important.
“You try to achieve certain things in defending him,” Stevens said. “You try to make it as difficult as possible.
“A lot like Steph Curry the other night, you try to emphasize we have to do this as a community and not a single individual. You have to try your best to keep him out of the paint and limit transition opportunities. He’s the very best in the world at that and has been for a long time.”
Keeping James out of the paint is a tough task because he’s able to absorb so much contact and still get off a quality shot attempt. James knows he can get to the paint and score almost at will. At worst, he’ll likely draw a foul. His shot frequency backs this up.
Entering Tuesday night, James had taken 55 percent of his shots from less than 8 feet. His next-most frequent shot distance was 24 feet and beyond, at 19.4 percent. This isn’t surprising — the mid-range game in pro basketball is dying — but it does illustrate the need to keep James as far from the basket as possible.
James has never been a lights-out 3-point shooter, and he’s hitting on just 28 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc this season.
Keeping James away from the basket requires, among other things, double teams on the perimeter if possible, having help defenders seal up the paint when he puts the ball on the floor, as well as making sure to stay one step ahead of him on drives to the hoop.
The Celtics failed to stay in front of James when he penetrated to the basket Tuesday night, and he got into the paint pretty much whenever he wanted, particularly in the second quarter when Cleveland was shooting just over 30 percent and needed him to take over offensively. Thirteen of James’ 20 shot attempts were from in close.
Stevens said the Celtics “did a reasonable job defending,” but it’s still not good enough when James is able to attack the defense and create high-percentage shots. They’ll need a better effort, both individually and collectively, to slow down James if these teams meet again in the playoffs.
Thumbnail photo via Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY Sports Images
