LeBron James asserts his greatness when Cavs need it most
CHICAGO — LeBron James' individual performance against the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference semifinals has not been his best work.
But what a fine moment he had in the final 1.5 seconds on Game 4 Sunday at United Center.
James' 21-foot jump shot over excellent defender Jimmy Butler dropped in as the final buzzer sounded, giving the Cavaliers an 86-84 victory against the Bulls.
It was James' 10th made basket on 30 attempts, and James said, "I've made big shots before in the postseason. Obviously, this is a huge win for our team. You don't want to go down 3-1 against anyone. We were able to regain home-court (advantage) with the shot."
That play almost never happened. As the Cavs huddled and waited for referees to review a play with 1.5 seconds left, Cleveland coach David Blatt drew up an inbounds play with James throwing in the ball rather than catching it.
James disagreed.
"To be honest, the play that was drawn up, I scratched it and told coach to just give me that ball," he said. "I told coach there's no way I'm taking the ball out unless I can shoot it over the backboard. I told him, 'Have somebody else take the ball out, give me the ball and everybody get out of the way.'"
The final seconds were not Blatt's finest moment either — trying to call a timeout he didn't have and originally calling a play for someone else other than James on the final play.
Just after Chicago guard Derrick Rose tied the score at 84 with a driving layup, Blatt tried calling a timeout even though the Cavs had no timeouts left. Assistant coach Tyronn Lue grabbed Blatt before a referee saw Blatt's signal.
The rule for calling a timeout a team doesn't have: the timeout is granted, but a technical foul is assessed, and the other team also gains possession of the basketball.
"I almost blew it," Blatt said.
James' game-winner balanced Derrick Rose's game-winner from Game 3, and now this grueling, offensively challenged, yet entertaining series is tied at 2-2 and reduced to a best-of-three with Game 5 in Cleveland on Tuesday.
James finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists, all good looking numbers, and he's averaging 26 points, 11.3 rebounds and nine assists in the four games. Who wouldn't be happy with a near-triple double average in a series?
But this is James, who values efficiency, and this has not been an efficient performance from James against Chicago. Dig deeper into the stats, he is shooting 43.1% from the field, including 10.5% on three-pointers, and has committed 5.8 turnovers per game, including 15 in the past two games.
"I hate not being efficient," said James, who took 30 shots in a playoff game for the first time since 2009.
Though James was ecstatic after he made the shot and he has walked into the Cavaliers locker room with adrenaline still coursing through him, he was somber in his postgame news conference.
"I just don't like letting my teammates down," he said. "I did that in a few plays late in the fourth."
But after four games in this series, James is slowly realizing that efficiency needs to take backseat to doing what is necessary to win even if that means less efficient basketball.
The 2014-15 playoffs have been marked – marred even – by injuries, and perhaps no team is feeling the pain more than the Cavaliers. Kevin Love (dislocated left shoulder) is done for the season, Kyrie Irving is hobbled by a strained right foot, Iman Shumpert has a strained left groin and James and J.R. Smith turned ankles on Sunday.
"I know some challenges present different ways of winning," James said. "Obviously with my point guard a little hobbled right now. My other All-Star is out for the rest of the season. I want to be efficient, but sometimes it's just not happening in this series right now. … I've got to do whatever it takes."
The Cavaliers injuries are causing them to have efficiency issues as a team, starting with Irving, who is 5-of-23 from the field in the past two games. Irving, who is gutting it out, can't finish at the rim, is struggling defensively and it will be difficult for Cleveland to keep winning with Irving this hampered.
For Cleveland to win this series, it needs all it can get from Tristan Thompson, Timofey Mozgov, Shumpert, J.R. Smith and Matthew Dellavedova. Thompson has been quietly outstanding in this series, and he had 12 points and seven rebounds. Mozgov had his best game of the series with 15 points, nine rebounds and three blocks, and J.R. Smith (12 points) is shooting 50% on threes after missing the first two games because of a suspension.
The Bulls, also dealing with a left hamstring injury to center-forward Pau Gasol, who missed Game 4, need to regroup. They led by seven after three quarters and were outscored 19-6 in the first eight minutes of the fourth. At home, the Bulls squandered a chance to take a 3-1 series lead.
Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau did not buy the theory the Cavs "stole one."
"There's no stealing going on anywhere," he said. "I don't think we steal from them. I don't think they steal from us. The games are hard fought and you have to win."
Rose (31 points) had his second consecutive game of at least 30 points, and ironically, the oft-injured Rose is one of healthiest players on the court. The Bulls will need similar play from Rose if they want to win the series, and more from others. Butler was on the only other player in double figures for the Bulls.
"We have more than enough, so whoever we have, just find way. … They're a great team. It should be a hell of a series," Thibodeau said.