CLEVELAND — If this book on how to perfectly handle LeBron James on defense could be found today, it would instantly become a bestseller throughout the NBA. At this point, it’s still relatively vague – even as he approaches his 39th birthday.
James and the Los Angeles Lakers returned to Rocket Mortgage Arena on Saturday night to defeat the Cavaliers 121-115. This is his 21st season, and his game and the problems he causes opposing defenses haven’t changed as much as one might have thought a few years ago.
James averaged 25.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 6.7 assists on Saturday night. Those are within striking distance of his career averages dating back to 2003. In fact, he was more efficient, shooting 57.8% from the field (career average: 50.5%) and 41.4% from three (career average: 34.5%).
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The team used to have a clear game plan. Early in his career — around the time he first came back with the Cavaliers — James was so lethal getting to the rim. The idea is to play almost preventative defense and encourage him to try a long jump, or preferably a three-point shot. Over time, James’ outside shooting has improved, eliminating this disadvantage.
The book on how to defend against him has been revised over time, but the complete content has not been found. The team could only find parts of broken pages here and there.
“You’re going to continue to see how (the game plan) evolves,” Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “There was a time where you could watch all his moves and have him come off screens and shoot jumpers. Those things have changed. He’s become a better 3-point shooter, obviously, over time.”
He has been in his 40s for 13 months. The team is still trying to figure out what to do.
“You have to marvel because we haven’t seen this level of implementation in such a long time,” Bickerstaff said. “I think sports medicine and the focus on body, health and nutrition has happened. There have been changes, but to see a guy do it at this level for so long, I don’t think we’ve seen that yet.”
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To a certain extent, James is operating outside of the opposing defense’s specific game plan, at least compared to the way teams attack 99 percent of the league’s teams.
“I think it was outside of the game plan,” Bickerstaff said. “You go out and make his job as difficult as possible … easier said than done. But you want to frustrate him by not giving him the first option. You want him to have to send his team to the second , third and fourth options to see how good they are at this.
“In the grand scheme of things as an individual, it’s hard to make great plans.”
In the Lakers’ win over the Cavaliers on Saturday night, James scored 22 points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out six assists and made a number of clutch plays in the clutch. He shot just 1-for-9 from 3-point range, which kept the damage under control. But for the Cavaliers, James’ passing is the biggest danger.
“He can make passes that 99.9 percent of the players in the league can’t make,” Bickerstaff said. “I mean, there’s not a lot he can’t do. It not only puts pressure on you personally, but it puts pressure on you as a defense.”
Many around the league still stress that James is still doing what he’s doing. But there is also a certain level of respect.
“I mean, everybody knows LeBron is the greatest player of all time,” rookie guard Craig Porter Jr. said. “Not only is he the best scorer, he’s the best passer, he knows how to get the team open without even scoring the ball… That makes him one of the hardest players to defend, and that’s why He is who he is.”
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter: @ByRyanLewis.