When LeBron James announced his homecoming to Cleveland in the offseason after spending four seasons at the Miami Heat, the four-time MVP hinted he was on mission to win a championship with his home town basketball club.
He had led Cleveland to the NBA Finals in 2006-07, but the Cavaliers were swept by the San Antonio Spurs. But, in Miami, James went on to win two championships, something he wants to accomplish in Cleveland.
And, James’ intention of clinching the Larry O’Brien trophy with the Cavaliers is getting closer and closer.
So far, so good for James and the Cavaliers, who have clinched a playoff berth and, currently, sit second in the Eastern Conference, behind the Atlanta Hawks.
The Cavaliers will be entering the playoffs for the first time in four years, and they know they have some hurdles to overcome.
After all, this teams needs desperately to win more games on the road, and, more importantly, the Cavaliers need Kevin Love’s involvement in key moments of the game.
Love does not seem to be happy with his status in the team. At times, he is seen in the sidelines for the entire decisive fourth and final quarter.
However, he certainly won’t miss the opportunity of making a playoffs series debut in style. If he steps up his game, the Cavaliers are clearly the team to beat, not only in the East, but also in the league.
Just like Love, fourth-year guard and former Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving will be making his playoffs debut later this month.
Judging by the Cavaliers’ latest results, James, Irving and Co appear to be playing more like a No 1 team in the conference.
For a team, which had a poor start to the season, and has won 18 consecutive home games, so far, beating teams such as Memphis and San Antonio suggests something special might be about to happen.
J.R. Smith has been crucial coming off the bench, providing some offensive momentum, and Timofey Mozgov continues to make his presence felt for the Cavs in the paint area.
Meanwhile, the Akron native James has the chance to play in his fifth consecutive NBA Finals if the Cavaliers maintain the winning mode. They’re unbeaten in three straight.
And, as the playoffs approach James continues to build on personal records.
The 30-year-old moved up to No 20 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, surpassing Patrick Ewing who scored 24 815 career points.
James has been crucial for the Cavaliers this season, no doubt about it.
He even calls plays to run the Cavaliers offense, something he had been doing for over a decade.
“My rookie year I didn’t have the freedom, I wasn’t smart enough to do it. The last 11 years, I’ve done it every game,” he told reporters.
“Why wouldn’t you give me the freedom for play-calling? That’s like telling Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, don’t give them the freedom to change in the huddle,” James said.
“I am a smart, cerebral basketball player, my basketball IQ is very high, and I take that very seriously, so I know what best suits our team and our coaching staff does as well.
“But, you don’t allow me to call plays throughout the course of a game, then that’s not good for our team.”
Everything seems to be working as planned for the Cavaliers, which has registered a 31-7 record since 15 January.
And, every time the Cavaliers score at least 100 points at home, they are 21-0.
In addition to Cleveland excellence of late, first-year coach David Blatt was named the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for March after leading his team to an 11-4 record.
“That’s just the result of having a lot of good players to coach,” Blatt said.
The Cavaliers play the Boston Celtics live on SuperSport on Sunday evening.
