Following Jordan’s Rules

This was the day I had been waiting for. I had no idea it was going to come in the Cavaliers’ home opener against the hated Miami Heat. There was no exact date in mind; simply a long standing ache to see a beautifully simplistic action. A soft pang of hope that grew fainter with every passing year. With every jacked up three and pick and roll handle, I felt it slipping away. It didn’t matter if the deep jumper tore up the net, or if the PnR produced a vicious dunk. Conversely, the success of those plays only made the ache grow stronger, the fear more palpable.

“He’ll never learn,” I would think to myself. “He should be the best player in history. There shouldn’t be a question, but he just can’t bring himself to do it.” Articles were written begging for him to be boringly transcendent instead of spectacularly great. I yearned for LeBron’s inner Jordan.

I’m not talking about the high-flying Jordan that changed the way the league played defense. I’m talking about the Michael Jordan that won three consecutive titles from 1996-1998 by being the best post player who ever lived. This guy.

I know, I know. People have been talking about King James in the post since he entered the league. A summer with Hakeem was supposed to be the turning point. And yes, James played down low during his Miami college years (though he was rarely the PF. That was actually Shane Battier, despite what people claim. As the late Flip Saunders said, “You are the position you can guard.” Shane guarded most of the fours, though Bron obviously could have done it. I digress).

In Cleveland, The Chosen One thrilled us throughout last year’s playoffs by backing down suckas into the stanchion with super power ball. Don’t get me wrong, it was great! But that style of power post play requires so much energy. It’s understandable that LeBron wouldn’t want to exert that kind of physical effort for 82 games. That is why Friday night was the day I had been waiting for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlIC_Plq5K4

That is majestic. That’s easy. There isn’t a PnR highlight in there until about the three minute mark. There are no five dribble backdowns like 2015 playoff LeBron. There is just a simple play:

The PG (Mo in this case) brings the ball up and passes to the wing (JR) at the elbow extended while LeBron chills in the weak side/opposite corner. Mo then cuts through the middle to set a back screen on LeBron’s man on the opposite baseline from the ball. LeBron uses the screen to cross to the strong side of the hoop, where he establishes wonderfully deep post position. JR feeds LeBron, and the Cavs are in business.

LeBron catching at anything under 12 to 15 feet is nearly impossible to stop. Double him and he will ping the ball around for a wide open three. Single him and we see the highlights above. That, in itself, is already getting on Jordan’s plane. His Greatness always got to his spot on the floor and, from that distance, the smooth one or two dribble turnaround jumper is a foul shot. Ya know, not like Kobe’s 20 footer.

The key is to use your teammates to do the work early. That little baseline screen is really tough to guard when it is set by a point guard. Teams are hesitant to switch it because that would almost assuredly leave LeBron to abuse some poor little sap for a layup. Not switching leaves the defense chasing LeBron. Not great, but better than certain death. It is necessary to have big-men who have enough range to keep the lane clear. Without Kevin Love’s gravity, the opposing four man could cheat to help on the screen. With the threat of Love raining bombs, the paint is open.

Defenses are more clever in the playoffs against actions like these. Pressing up on the wing can make the post entry pass a pain. If that still doesn’t stop the bleeding, a quick zone look could muck things up for the offense. But in the regular season, it should be an easy way to get LeBron into the paint without all the huffing and puffing of PnR or straight LeIso. Sounds good.

Bonus Love Notes:

There has been a reactionary sentiment tossed around about Kevin Love. Essentially, some of our blog family doesn’t like the national narrative that Love has played significantly better this season. The thought is that Love was incredibly underrated last year, and it only seems like Kevin is ballin’ out now because his free agency drama has passed. I understand the thought, and there is certainly a bit of verity in it. Love was not properly rated last season. However, I still don’t agree.

Perhaps his traditional counting numbers aren’t drastically better (though they are more than a bit improved). That doesn’t tell the real story. The real story is that he is playing both lower on the court and in his stance. His back looks so much better.

Kevin’s quickness as a show man in Pick and Roll D has freed Blatt to diversify the PnR coverage. Love isn’t only Icing anymore. His vastly improved lateral movement has allowed him to show and recover on occasion (with his hands up!!!). Our GQ model is a different player on D than he was at the start of 2014-2015. Offensively, his body is allowing his brain to get back to the fun of being Kevin Love.

Boy, is it showing up in the advanced stats. Three games are clearly to be taken in proper perspective, but his Winshare per 48 is at an all-time high. Usage percentage is back over 25. Love is cleaning the offensive glass again. We can have it both ways. Last year, Kevin was not as bad as many thought. This year, he is much improved. Go Team.