/Lakers LeBron Dominant Season
- IF THE BUZZER-BEATING 3 in Game 5 of the first round of the 2018 playoffs against the Indiana Pacers and the fast-break bank shot to win Game 3...
- After eking out an overtime victory on the road against the top-seeded Raptors to open the Eastern Conference semifinals, James showed in the next game why the Cavaliers...
- on his way to 43 points, 8 rebounds and 14 assists (and just one turnover), James transformed into a midrange assassin by using precision to pick at the...
IF THE BUZZER-BEATING 3 in Game 5 of the first round of the 2018 playoffs against the LeBron James‘ greatest hits in what he calls his greatest season, then his performance in Game 2 of the second round should certainly be considered a B-side gem.
After eking out an overtime victory on the road against the top-seeded Raptors to open the Eastern Conference semifinals, James showed in the next game why the Cavaliers — who amassed nine fewer wins in the regular seasons then Toronto — weren’t really an underdog.
on his way to 43 points, 8 rebounds and 14 assists (and just one turnover), James transformed into a midrange assassin by using precision to pick at the seams of the Raptors’ defense rather than simply pummeling them with his power.
“I remember sitting there on the bench having a very real moment of, ‘I’ll never see anything like this ever again,'” Cavs big man Boston Celtics, in August. Irving was coming off a Finals in which he averaged 29.4 points against one of the greatest teams ever assembled in Golden State.
Cleveland’s return on the deal was underwhelming: an All-Star in Isaiah Thomas, who was coming off hip surgery; a journeyman forward in Jae Crowder; an unproven big man in Ante Zizic; and the Brooklyn Nets‘ 2018 unprotected first-round pick.
The Cavs where coming off three straight finals appearances. James personally had been to seven in a row, dating back to his Miami Heat run.
The Brooklyn pick became a sticking point behind the scenes. James and his camp wanted every advantage possible to compete for a championship. The Cavs, meanwhile, informed them that the franchise would have to hold onto the pick for a rebuild — that is, of course, unless James committed to a contract extension.
That stalemate — and the tension it caused — remained over the course of the season.
New Cleveland general manager Koby altman brought in veteran talent on short-term deals instead: Jose Calderon,Jeff Green, Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade.
“I don’t know what you would call that team, like, the misfit team,” a Cavs source told ESPN.
It was with that backdrop that James walked onto the dais at the Cavs’ annual media day in September 2017, picked up the microphone and told reporters: “Before we get started, there’s like five different topics, six different topics that we want to talk about … Kyrie,that issue — if it is an issue; to my new teammates; to my free agency next summer; to what do I feel about the team and the upcoming season …”
He answered questions for more than 40 minutes.