Will LeBron James Always Be Too Much for Celtics?

LeBron James is one of the best postseason players ever, so will the Celtics ever be able to get past him?

Maybe not so much following his third NBA championship, coming back down three games to one to the record-breaking Golden State Warriors, but LeBron James is still called a choker by some. LeChoke is still a phrase used, despite James clearly cementing himself as one of the best postseason players ever and single-handedly bringing the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Finals during his first stint with the team in 2007.

While James has proven to be unbeatable in the Eastern Conference playoffs over the past six seasons, reaching the Finals each year, he has gone just .500 in the Finals. Prior to LeBron James leaving the Cavaliers for the Miami Heat, the Boston Celtics Big Three defeated James in both series they matched-up in during his first stint with Cleveland.

While winning three championships in six years is remarkable, the Western Conference has been able to knock James off three times, meaning beating the Cavaliers and ending James’ incredible six straight Finals appearances streak is plausible.

Sure, the Celtics did it back in 2007-08 and 2009-10, but James was a different player back then, and the teams the Celtics compiled those years were some of the best in franchise history – which speaks volume considering they own an NBA record 17 championships. Even if adding a third star to the mix and forming their modern-day Big Three, there’s no question that the Celtics will lack in comparison to the original Big Three formed a little under 10 years ago.

With James seemingly only getting better in the postseason as every year passes, is it actually plausible to think that he’ll eventually get knocked out before the NBA Finals? And, could the Celtics be that team?

A LeBron James led team in the NBA Finals has become such a common occurrence that it seems like the rest of the Eastern Conference is just playing for second place. Sure, he had help in Miami and now in Cleveland during his second stint, but he led an injury-plagued Cavaliers team to the Finals a year ago and is the unquestioned leader of every championship run.

Despite 13-years in the NBA, James is just a mere 31-years-old. With 38,478 NBA minutes played, paired with international play, there’s no doubt that it will eventually take a toll on arguably the greatest small forward to ever play the game. He already has played the most minutes in Cavaliers’ history and needs just 78 games to tie Zydrunas Ilgauskas as the franchise’s leader in games played. Even with all the minutes and games James has racked up, he has never suffered a major injury, basically being a real-life superhero on the basketball court.

As impressive as James’ career 27.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game is, he’s even more impressive in the postseason, especially as of late. 28 points, 8.8 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game in his postseason career is matched by few. He also had one of the best runs in NBA history last year as he nearly averaged a triple-double during the Cavaliers 20 playoff games, despite it eventually ending in a Finals loss to the Warriors.

When looking at his numbers, it doesn’t seem possible that he could continue to put up such staggering numbers. He’s only racking up more minutes on his legs and he’s been in the league since he was 18-years-old. Although, the Cavaliers and James have been smart with his regular season minutes, preserving him for the postseason. LeBron only ranked 12th in minutes per game and 18th in total minutes played last season.

Therefore, expecting another three to four years of sheer dominance from James isn’t out of question, plus another three to four years of stellar play. That speaks trouble for the Boston Celtics as they’re just now starting to hit their stride with their new core, seemingly just a player or two away from being considered actual competitors to the Cavaliers.

While Boston was the only team to win on the Warriors and Cavaliers home courts last season, we have to remember that it happened in the regular season. Still an impressive feat, although there is a much different feel, and the game is played differently, in the regular season. Boston was notified of that right away with their embarrassing postseason series loss to the Atlanta Hawks last year.

However, Boston did add former Hawks’ big man Al Horford this summer. Horford helps in nearly every area the Celtics were lacking in last season, while also taking away a big part of the team who beat them last year. Most importantly, Horford adds at least a little rim protection on a team that had close to none last season – their leading shot blocker being 6-9 power forward Amir Johnson.

While Tristan Thompson proved how important front court play still is in the NBA during his stellar NBA Finals against the Warriors this past year, Horford alone won’t be enough to stop LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. While Horford can guard Love, and All-Defensive First Team guard Avery Bradley can try to contain Irving, the biggest problem lies where it always has and always will, LeBron James.

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Despite James not owning the same killer instinct that made Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant so dominating during their careers, he impacts the game like very few have ever been able to do. There are only a handful of NBA players in the history of the game that no matter what the circumstances, it seems idiotic to bet against them.

During last year’s Finals, Cleveland wasn’t favored to upset Golden State, but it was still hard to go against them because LeBron makes things happen that no one thinks is possible. While Jordan and James have very different games, their impact is extremely similar. They make everyone around them better and it’s nearly impossible to put either away in the postseason.

The last time the Celtics and Cavaliers met in the playoffs was two years ago, in 2015, although, Boston was a much different team. They were coming into the playoffs at 40-42 and Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder had been with the team for only half a season. Last season’s exciting victory over Cleveland proved how far Boston had come in just a short time, although Cleveland still took two of three games on the year, and James and the Cavaliers were still dominating, despite Boston owning one of the fiercest defensive back courts in the NBA.

Jae Crowder was able to hold James to just 27.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and five assists per game over their three contests, but, as everyone knows, containing James takes more than just one person. Plus, Irving missed one of their contests and Love played nearly three minutes less when they played the Celtics compared to the rest of the regular season, and two minutes less than his 30.7 minutes per game in the postseason.

Jae Crowder is an amazing defender, but even Draymond Green, an All-NBA and All-Defensive Team member, struggled at times guarding James in the Finals. It simply can’t be done by just one person, which is how LeBron’s presence is more impactful than some bench players. The attention that James requires isn’t able to be replicated in practice, because there’s only one LeBron, which can add a lot of panic and stress to teams during the game.

When he drives, you need to collapse or else he’ll get an easy, thunderous dunk that will ignite the crowd and give the Cavaliers a spark that could put the game out of reach. He’s strong enough to get by anyone in the NBA and screens give him a mismatch that he always knows how to take advantage of. As much hate as Love may get, his three-point shot is extremely important on a team that gives him many open looks, especially while playing alongside a superstar who loves to pass like James does.

Plus, there’s also Kyrie Irving, who was named to the All-NBA Third Team just a year ago. Irving’s 32.1 three-point percentage was underwhelming this past season, and his points per game dipped to 19.6, but he shined in the postseason. He averaged 25.7 points per game on 47.5 percent shooting – 44 percent from three.

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Whether it was his beautiful handles that can get any defender crossed up, or the attention James attracts that gives Irving more opportunities, his play was marvelous in the postseason and he was as big of a reason as anyone during the Cavaliers comeback in the Finals. Simply put, as dominating as LeBron is, there is more to the Cavaliers than just him. Although figuring out a way to beat them starts with James.

With Russell Westbrook off the market, a true superstar doesn’t seem to be available right now. Adding Blake Griffin this upcoming summer is still a possibility for the Celtics, but his lack of defense, let alone perimeter defense, would become a problem in a potential matchup with the Cavaliers in the postseason. Rim protection was the biggest issue against the Hawks this year, but the Hawks also didn’t have a player like LeBron who could take over a game in a heartbeat.

Considering Paul Millsap put up 45 points against Boston in Game Four, James, Irving and company would have had a field day with their hot three-point shooting and post presence. When it comes down to it, it takes a unique group of players and team effort and unity to defeat a LeBron James led team. The San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks proved that with their beautiful team play, even with Kawhi Leonard not being the bonafide defensive star he is today.

However, Leonard did breakout of his shell during the 2013-14 Finals, winning Finals MVP. Also, Dirk Nowitzki was the star the Mavericks needed during the 2010-11 Finals as he posted 27.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Not to mention the amount of star power the Warriors had a couple of seasons ago, and this past season as they were just one game away from closing out Cleveland for a second straight season.

As much as depth and team play is a factor in beating the Cavaliers, star power carries just as much weight. Sure, Thomas and Horford each made the All-Star team last season, but neither should be a championship team’s top option in the postseason. Maybe the Celtics are able to land a franchise changer in the draft over the coming years, or maybe Danny Ainge pulls off another mind-blowing trade, but Thomas and Horford are the second and third parts to a Big Three, not the top option.

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The Celtics do still have some of the perimeter defenders in the NBA and a decent rim protector to go along with one of the best young coaches in the league, Brad Stevens. Although, just like Jordan dominated the 1990s when he played, LeBron is dominating the 2010s.

Just five years ago the Chicago Bulls were seen as threats to the Miami Heat, even more so than Boston is to Cleveland this year. Despite the Bulls having an outstanding wing defender in Luol Deng and MVP in Derrick Rose, with as deep of a bench as anyone in the league, it wasn’t enough. Now with James seemingly hitting the prime of his postseason career, stopping him prior to the Finals over the next five years seems even more unlikely.

The window is open for the Boston Celtics, and their clock is ticking, especially with Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley becoming free agents following the 2017-18 season. Although, just as many teams in the 1990s are remembered as “great, but too bad there was Michael Jordan”, the Celtics and the rest of the Eastern Conference will likely be remembered as “they weren’t bad, but LeBron James.”

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