Cleveland Cavaliers: Can The “Big Three” Last Long-term?
By Ryan Rosko
Future Is Up To LeBron
Nate Ellis
There’s no doubt that the Cleveland Cavaliers have been under a tremendous amount of pressure since the formation of the “Big Three.” With key additions in J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert there is no reason this team can not win a title. To be frank, the fate of the “Big Three” and Cleveland’s title hopes rests on the shoulders of the man who created it, LeBron James.
James is becoming more and more like a relic of the past. He’s still stuck in his era of basketball and doesn’t seem willing to come out of it.
Time and time again, the greats find ways to adapt to the changes of the league and continues to win. Yes, I’m referring to “iso” ball or “ the stinky leg — you know, the thing where LeBron sits at the top of the key, dribbling the air out of the ball until the shot clock hit five seconds and then he pulls up for a strange step back jumper.
It’s as if he thinks he’s back on the 2007 Cleveland Cavaliers with Larry Hughes as the secondary player. Well, he’s not, he has two all-star caliber players who can score the ball in very effective manners, and his failure to give up control of the offense is killing the team.
Great players in today’s NBA do not just iso themselves to get their share of buckets. Instead, they find ways to get their fair share within the structure of the offense. When said players have the hot hand and can’t seem to miss, coaches and teammates go back to them. However, that is not the case in Cleveland, where LeBron is having one his worst shooting years in his career.
When said players have the hot hand and can’t seem to miss, coaches and teammates go back to them. However, that is not the case in Cleveland, where LeBron is having one his worst shooting years in his career.
Ultimately, LeBron must be willing to give up more control of the offense on the court to maintain the happiness between the Big Three. This is the only way where the team can stay together and build its chemistry up. But if LeBron doesn’t give up more control, tensions will be high and it will only be inevitable that the “Big Three” will fall apart, taking its place in Cleveland sports legend as something that would’ve been, but never was.
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