LeBron's clutch gene overriding Blatt, efficiency issues
Narratives in sports are a funny thing, and once in a while they get turned on their ear. One day, for instance, you wake up in the spring of 2015 and Randy Wittman is a brilliant coach and Austin Rivers a money player.
There was a time several years ago when LeBron James was the subject of multiple derisive hot takes; he wasn't clutch, and he couldn't win the big one. Part of that narrative always looped back to the ludicrous comparisons to Michael Jordan - a player that never lost an NBA Finals in six tries.
Seeing as I am in the ludicrous comparison business, however, consider what James accomplished with his Game 4-winning bucket over the Chicago Bulls on Sunday:
Lebron James has as many career playoff buzzer beaters as Michael Jordan did in his career (3) #CAVS
— Adnan Virk, ESPN (@adnanESPN) May 11, 2015
James is now 6-for-10 in his playoff career on go-ahead shots in the final five seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime. Jordan was 5-for-11 in the same situations.
It takes balls - and a certain pedigree that most players will never attain - to override a coach's call and win a postseason game on one's own. Then again, perhaps that's easier when said player's rookie coach has nearly pulled a Chris Webber moments earlier.
Yet the discussion of James' clutch gene must be mentioned with some very real efficiency issues he's had in this year's playoffs.
For instance, James has shot 6-for-39 percent from 3-point territory in the postseason. That's a 15.4 percent clip, in a not-insignificant sample size. The spacing issues the loss of Kevin Love has created can be blamed, but James was also 3-of-13 from three prior to Love's injury.
| LeBron James | FG% | 3P% | PTS | ORtg | TOV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career postseason | 47.8 | 32.3 | 23.6 | 115 | 12.6 |
| 2015 postseason | 41.8 | 15.4 | 26.5 | 98 | 16.1 |
Note his scoring being up above his career average. But also consider that, with Love sidelined and Kyrie Irving hobbled, LeBron is taking 24.5 shots per game this postseason, a career high. His 30 attempts in Game 4 were his second-most this season. Predictably, his usage rate (36) is also at a postseason career high.
Prior to the Bulls series, ESPN's Tom Haberstroh broke down LeBron's numbers without Love. In the regular season, James shot 50.6 percent from the field with Love on the floor, and 45.4 percent with Love on the bench.
Furthermore, James' average shot distance was 11.7 feet with Love, per SportVU data cited by Haberstroh. That jumped to 12.9 feet without him. In this year's playoffs, James is shooting 21.4 percent from 10-16 feet, according to Basketball-Reference. That's a career low, although he's shot a more respectable 36.4 percent from 16 feet to just inside the arc.
Here's his aggregate shot chart against the Bulls:
This is worrisome, considering that the Cavaliers offense is currently predicated on James isolations and mid-range pull-ups.
But what do numbers matter when a player is clutch?