LeBron James is facing something on Sunday afternoon that he has never had to face in his career before, and that is a Game 7 in the first round of the NBA playoffs. King James has a crazy first round playoff record, winning 12 out of 12 first round playoff series’ and going 51-10 so far in first round career games. LeBron’s almost perfection in the opening round of the playoffs is often compared to players including Michael Jordan who lost three first-round series’ and when talking about legacy and the question of who’s the greatest of all time, LeBron’s first round excellence is something that is often looked at.
But this first round brilliance is on the line in Game 7 on Sunday night as the Cavaliers will host the Pacers after failing to put them out in game six, and allowing them to force a final game.
So as we look towards game seven, we focus on the matchups and the players who will need to step up. And for LeBron who has averaged over 32 points, 10 rebounds and almost 8 assists per game in the series so far, he will be hoping to see his teammates step up.
LeBron calls on K-Love
Kevin Love has been somewhat awful in the playoffs this year, averaging just 11 points and 9.8 rebounds per game in the first round series against the Indiana Pacers. For Love, a five-time NBA all-star, he is certainly underperforming and playing too soft.
And when LeBron is the only player on his team that has scored over 20 points in a game these playoffs, it is definitely a sign that you should be stepping up if you’re K-Love, the only other all-star on the Cavaliers roster.
LeBron James spoke to the media after their game six loss to the Indiana Pacers, and made some comments about his teammate Kevin Love:
LeBron James on Kevin Love's struggles: "He's a huge part of our success or our non-success... We can't make the shots for him, he has to step up and knock those down... If we want to have any success in Game 7 or to move on to the next round, Kev has to be a big part of that." pic.twitter.com/ZaACJgpGzZ
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) April 28, 2018
King James knows what he’s talking about and knows exactly the importance of a player like Kevin Love if Cleveland hopes to win Game 7 and move onto the second round of the 2018 NBA playoffs.
But at the end of the day, it still needs to be more than Kevin Love helping the King. The whole Cavs roster and everyone who steps on the floor needs to be excellent on Sunday.
Teammate issues
No teammate of LeBron’s has had a huge performance yet in the six games of the NBA playoffs this year. A few players may be experiencing their first playoff action, but that is no excuse.
Kyle Korver has been somewhat consistent, George Hill was solid until he fell to injury, JR Smith has been solid, but as for the rest of the team, they all need to step up their games.
Rodney Hood, Larry Nance, Jeff Green, Jordan Clarkson and Tristan Thompson are all solid players but are putting up less productive numbers than they have all season long. For them to be playing worse in the postseason is the opposite of what Coach Lue wants, and he will be hoping to see them play well on Sunday.
