On a night in which the Cleveland Cavaliers needed their players to go above and beyond to take a game back from the Golden State Warriors, their leader LeBron James seemed to have every answer. Whether he was attacking the basket mercilessly, throwing in hook shots off the glass, diving for loose balls, closing out hard on jump shooters, finding his jumper or rotating everywhere the defense needed him to be, LeBron had one of those special performances that so few players can replicate.
The energy from the Cavs in Game 1 of the NBA Finals was fine, but their execution and focus weren't enough to hang with the Warriors. Everything was a disaster in Game 2, and it seemed like the Cavs were happy to pack it in once the game got out of hand to conserve energy for their return to Cleveland. Game 3 saw the Cavaliers come out firing on offense and suffocating the Warriors on defense. It also saw LeBron everywhere on the floor.
It's not just that LeBron finished with 32 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. It's the way he blitzed the box score with this stat line that shines through in such a performance. He did everything he needed to do, and seemed to be going faster and harder than most of the Warriors were prepared to deal with at any given moment in the game. He took the game in stride and allowed Kyrie Irving to cook the Warriors' defense early on.
From there, it was LeBron finding ways to get out in transition, attack the basket in the half court and live at the rim.
James scored 20 of his 32 points in the paint. He outscored the Warriors 9-8 in transition on the night. After the first two games, LeBron was 13-of-26 in the paint and 12-of-22 in the restricted area. His Game 3 numbers saw him go 10-of-18 in the paint and 8-of-13 in the restricted area. He attacked smarter and harder while feasting on an unraveling Warriors' interior defense.
Then once his game felt comfortable, LeBron unleashed a jumper we haven't seen much of since he left Miami.
James was 5-of-10 on jumpers in Game 3, which isn't exactly making him an honorary Splash Brother, but it is a nice reminder that a LeBron with a wet jumper is like a tornado hugging a hurricane. There will be destruction everywhere. You know James was feeling good with his jumper when he took that pull-up 3-point shot in transition to push the lead to 22 in the third quarter. The rhythm, the footwork and the handle were all lining up to give him a great shot at making jumpers.
No play exemplified his effort in this game more than the steal when he batted down a pass from Steph Curry and ended up on the other end of the floor with a Grant Hill-esque alley-oop throwdown.
It was a great reminder to everyone just how freakish and alien it is to see a 6-foot-8 man weighing in at 250 lbs. move the way he does with the quick motions that can turn an innocent enough pass into the highlight of the night. It wasn't even his best defensive play of the night though. There were a handful of other plays that saw him switching, rotating and reacting within the team concept.
That play in which he takes the ball from Andrew Bogut around the rim saw him start out on Draymond Green, switch onto Steph Curry to cut him off from getting a layup and then switching instantly onto Bogut to slap away the ball. That versatility, awareness and effort are all things the Cavs need with the rest of the teammates communicating and moving on a string to keep the Warriors in front of them and not getting into that deadly rhythm on offense.
This early closeout in the game had LeBron calculating where he needed to be to keep the ball from being driven to the basket while still being able to close out on Green when he fired up a 3-pointer. He covers about 20 feet in less than a second to go from having a foot around the restricted area to a great contest on the 3-point shot. That's a special closeout and one that shows the urgency with which he was playing in Game 3.
In the first two games, LeBron challenged 11 total shots, according to NBA.com/Stats. In Game 3, he challenged eight shots.
He also showed the vast chasm between the athleticism of Green and his own athletic abilities. After getting blown by on a spin by Draymond, LeBron tracks him down perfectly and times the flailing shot from Green by recovering and slapping the ball to Richard Jefferson with his left hand. Maybe if Green has a stronger take to the basket, LeBron isn't able to recover and block the shot. Perhaps he even fouls Draymond on the play. But he saw his opponent off-balance and decided to make it a highlight.
On another play, LeBron was tracking Curry after a switch, funneling him into help, diving on the floor for the loose ball and then starting a break that led to a J.R. Smith corner 3-pointer. The whole image of the star diving on the floor can galvanize a team or keep reinforcing the message from the leader and the coach. One hundred percent effort at all times. Don't lose focus. Put it on the opponents.
That was LeBron in Game 3 and it was a welcome sight for Cleveland.
