LeBron James struggled through the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals like few fans have even seen the superstar struggle. While the Boston Celtics blew out the Cleveland Cavaliers, 108-83, LeBron was not doing anything to help his team come back in the game. James played for 36 minutes in the game, and according to NBA legend Kobe Bryant, playing more minutes will not help the Cavs win this series. According to Bryant, even if LeBron plays more and beats the Celtics, he needs to be healthy and have all his energy when it comes time to play the Golden State Warriors or Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals.
LeBron's struggles against Boston
In the game, LeBron James only scored 15 points. Before this loss, his lowest scoring output in the playoffs was 22 points in Game 6 of the series against the Indiana Pacers. He has broken 40 points four times in this year's playoffs alone. The problem is that James only hit 31.3 percent of his field goal opportunities. His average in the postseason this year is 55.3-percent and his worst game before this was when he hit 40-percent against Toronto in Game 1 last round.
Interestingly, LeBron only hit 41-percent in Game 1 against the Indiana Pacers. However, Cavs fans can take comfort in this fact. After scoring 24 points on 41-percent shooting against Indiana in Game 1, LeBron scored 46 points and hit 70-percent of his shots in Game 2.
After James scored 26 points on 40-percent shooting in Game 1 against Toronto, he shot 67-percent and scored 43 points in Game 2.
Kobe has advice for LeBron
So, if playing more is not what LeBron James needs to do in order to beat the Boston Celtics and remain energized for the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Finals possibilities, what is it that he needs to do?
Kobe Bryant, who won five NBA Championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, has some advice.
Kobe Bryant broke down some tape and showed what LeBron James can do to beat the Boston Celtics. He showed a play where LeBron had a player beat in the paint. However, he then came out of the paint before George Hill passed the ball to J.R.
Smith. LeBron knew he was going to be open, so Kobe said that he should have stayed by the basket, took the pass from Smit there, and then hit the easy shot. Instead, LeBron came out, took the pass, and then had to move back in against a defender to make the shot.
According to Kobe Bryant, these are unnecessary moves that wear down LeBron James and hurts the Cleveland Cavaliers in later games. At the end of the day, Kobe points out that it isn't about playing harder, it is about playing smarter, and that is what LeBron needs to do if he wants to win an NBA Championship this season.
