Add another line to the resumé. Add another 20,000 witnesses to the list. Add another clip to the montage. LeBron James did it again. He nailed a buzzer beater to defeat the Indiana Pacers in a crucial Game 5 on Wednesday, capping a masterpiece 44-10-8 for the King.



Is there any bigger advantage in the NBA over the past 13 years than having LeBron James on your roster? No. Is there any better play in the NBA over the past 13 years than to give LeBron James the ball? No. Is there any sight more terrifying on a basketball court in the past 13 years than LeBron will the ball and space to dribble? No.



Did everyone on the Pacers have nightmares about LeBron when they got to bed, if they even slept at all? Absolutely.



The upside of the Cavaliers being mired in a competitive first round series is that we get to see LeBron at his full powers, in his full glory. We usually have to wait until the East finals or NBA Finals to get stuff like this. So thank you, Indiana, for ensuring we get some pure, unfiltered LEBRON JAMES moments here in April. Your sacrifice is commended and appreciated.



(By the way, LeBron did totally get away with a goaltend on Victor Oladipo. He totally still would have won the game by a point.)

How about renaming the team LeBron and the Eleven Drawfs? [large dwarfs, I will admit] or is it drawves?

Peter C wrote:Are you saying it's only Lebron's stats, rusty?

Nope, since day one Lebron has asked to have a stat sheet provided at the end of quarters.

Don't think you need to know who has been scoring on your team or handing out assists or rebounds on the other team. Have not seen where the defense has switched like Lebron is saying I will take the hot guy.

HB, why does it bother me. Basically because this guy is such a damn hypocrite. I have no problem with a Russell Westbrook type player. Just stop telling everyone you are all about the team and not stats. Not true.

" Lebron tell us about that last amazing shot ? " Its just what I do !

No its not. You usually beat the damn air out of the ball and then take a damn fall away jumper from 25 feet away.

Just be yourself. Don't try to write the narrative too.

In other words you hate the guy. Look, it's personal. At least admit that but ON the court you are way off base. Because on the court we can ALL see.

And I will say this. There could be all kinds of OTHER stuff on that sheet as well. Where shots are taken from for example. We know he wants to be efficient and of course that is there - and the more efficient the more the team is helped. Assists are crazy high - constantly.

ON the court his game is very team friendly. Time and time again he passes off for someone who has a better shot. The smallest crack he finds it. Cutting teammate? He finds them - all the time. The man is a genius on the court. Anyone watching games sees that over and over (and over).

It's all about on the court. He has 3 rings including coming to Cleveland, yes Cleveland and winning a title. Works for me.

wish he had some quality teammates. If they're fortunate enough to beat Indiana tomorrow, they're probably not going to win another series.

An article I came across was about how the trades they made this year have not worked out for them in their playoff quest.

Actually, I've always wondered about those trades. I mean look at Larry Nance. And Clarkson. Neither of those guys necessarily were for this season but are young long term assets. Oh, add in the Kyrie trade that netted the draft pick. And even if healthy they knew Isiah Thomas only had one year on his contract which would open up cap space later on.

So I wouldn't be shocked if it eventually came out that they knew or suspected Lebron was gone long before anyone else did and made moves accordingly. Or it might never come out but to me Nance, Clarkson and Rodney Hood's youth and complete playoff inexperience point to life after Lebron.

Which is fine with me. The jig is up - it paid off for those whom titles are all. But it came with a price and time to start over - this time though with more assets then the last time he left.

No, Mark, I do not hate him. There is nothing that I say about him that is not the truth. Over the last 25 years I have definitely followed the Cavaliers as much if not more then anyone on this board. Next year just like in years past I will follow the Cavs whether Lebron is on this team or not.

No reason to wonder whether he is or not. I root for the Cavaliers and not the "chosen one". Front office has known since last playoffs that Lebron is gone.

Basketball genius, my ass. End of quarters, pound the rock, fake like you are going to drive and throw up a fall away that clanks more often or not just like Rustys patented lazy move on the driveway hoop.

The trades were all about giving the Lebron era one more chance but preparing for him to head to Los Angeles or possibly Houston if they need him to get over the hump.

Thanks to Lebron and Kyrie for the championship.

Hope they put up a fight in game 7. If they get behind expect game 6 against Boston all over again. Lebron by making the big shot in game 5 already has his series defining moment and it is all about his teammates now.

Lebron on Kevin Love......

"He's a huge part of our success or our non success," James said after Game 6. "Obviously, we try to go to him, we want to go to him. Obviously we can't make the shots for him. He has to step up and knock those down. Those things you can't control.

"The shot making, you're going to have games where you can't make shots and you can make shots, but we have to continue to let him know how important he is to our success and if want to have any success, either in a Game 7 or moving on to the next round, Kev has to be a big part of that."

There it is. The Cavs could maybe win Game 7 with Love playing like a shell of his normal self. They've done it twice already in this series. But if they are to have a prayer of advancing to the Eastern finals and Finals, Love has to be better, by leaps and bounds.

Fair enough, Rusty. And I will admit it drives me crazy how he dribbles forever then takes a long shot too. There is indeed energy in the ball moving and the team is at its best when it does. As most teams are.

Civ, call me crazy call me kooky, but I actually like our match up better next round then I do this one.

We do play Toronto, right?

Any way, we've seemed to always have their number. Even when when played them late in the season. Indiana is just a tough out for us.

As they say in the fight game, styles make fights. I think it makes it in other sports as well.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if we won our next series or two if we can somehow get out of this one.

This is especially a tough series for Love, who has been terribly ineffective. They are playing him at the 5 and he ends up with a taller and more athletic Turner on him. I think we'll see a better Love and Cavs next round if we get there.

I was typing as Rusty was posting but there it is on Love.

Yeah, is he still feeling the hand issue?

I think HB that also if they survive this round the experience has to help the 3 new guys in their first playoffs. Also just playing together more has to help since they started late.

You guys who know basketball, please explain why neither Nance nor Thompson starts. Is it about match ups? Or is Tristan really that bad now?
I guess centers are much less important these days? Does Love defend at center well enough?

civ - I'll let the other 2 handle it too but here's my 2 cents

I think if Tristan were the old Tristan then he would be starting, playing more with Love at PF. His defensive and rebounding relentlessness were so crucial in the playoffs. With that reduced, it's harder to keep him out there more.

As well, without Kyrie they can use the extra offense with Tristan off the floor. All in all, you can see they have holes in this team that the previous versions didn't.

Rusty,

Your response re the LeBron's use of the stats simply makes no sense. You contend that he is not looking at the other players stats because he can see who is doing what on the court and should not need to. But you start from the conclusion that he is looking at the stat sheets only to study his own stats. Certainly, it would be easier for him to already know his own stats than everyone else's and very easy for him to know his own key stats (that you say he is obsessed with mid-game) simply by looking at the score board.

Really, there is simply no sound basis you have every articulated to assume, as you do, that his purpose for studying the stat sheets is to obsess about himself. It makes no sense in the abstract and especially makes no sense given the large role he plays in directing the team flow in the course of games.

Why don't you just admit that your dislike of his false (we agree) total indifference about his stats is driving your assumption that that is his real reason for studying stats mid-game. The fact that you don't like being called out occasionally for regularly repeating the same extremely biased "truth" you claim to know about LeBron's personal thinking does not make your assertion fair (or even logical).

You may not hate LeBron, but you certainly harbor a clear bias in how you interpret his actions. Your own insistence otherwise detracts for the good points you regularly make on other aspects of sports in which we rely on your objectivity.

Peter C - lol. When I played high school basketball, I definitely, ALWAYS knew how many points and rebounds I had.

And I didn't need no damn stat sheet - that's for sure.