Cavalier Film Room: LeBron James Posting for Mid-Range

In Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Cleveland Cavaliers took their first series lead, lead by LeBron James’ 38 points without a single turnover. After falling behind 8-0, James got going—and did not stop. Of his 38, 24 came in the first half as he worked to establish his game from the inside-out rather than relying on his currently-faltering three-point shot. James’ post-up game and mid-range touch opened up more effective driving lanes, and Kyrie Irving—as well as the rest of his teammates knocking down shots—proved to be enough to pull them through a tight finish.

Let’s dive in to how James made the adjustment to take Tony Snell and Jimmy Butler down into the post.

James squares up against Snell one step inside the three point line. There’s nothing new here, except he does it with 14 seconds on the shot clock. James corners himself into less-than-desirable shot attempts when he does this with eight seconds or less on the clock.

But, look at the options the overload gives him. James could probably drive baseline to his left and catch Noah in a leaning help-side to draw the foul and hopefully finish with contact. He could also find Irving on the same side for a three-point shot attempt. Instead, James scoots the smaller Snell down to the block with a back-down dribble with his right hand.

At any point in this maneuver, James could stop to pop a mid-range fadeaway or a half-hook. Noah, Rose, and Gibson all pinch in at various points to help Snell, and Irving rotates from the top of the key to the left wing to catch the kick-out from James.

What’s the most effective thing you can do in the post when you have to kick it out? The answer: Immediately re-post as the help is retreating. Irving and James are on the same page here as Kyrie gets it right back into LeBron on the block. Now, James has fought for enough position such that his fadeaway shot is a mid-range 16-footer rather than a near-three as happens too often at the end of the shot clock. Credit needs to go to the Cavs for proper spacing on the opposite side to prevent the help defenders from sinking in any further.

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Next up, James has Butler back on him to begin the second quarter. Matthew Dellavedova enters it into the post from the left wing and immediately cuts away.

In this case, LeBron wastes no time as he catches the ball, turning left to fire a mid-range 16-footer. It’s almost the same spot as the first clip I showed from the first quarter against Snell. With Butler so concerned about being on an island due to the overload and protecting against the drive, it’s incredibly difficult for him to properly challenge that fadeaway jumper aside from putting a hand up. Also, I’m a fan of fadeaway jumpers being taken with 13 on the shot clock as opposed to three seconds or less on the shot clock for this exact reason. They’re likely to be more poorly contested because with the shot clock dwindling, the drive is all but ruled out.

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On the next possession, the Cavaliers set up almost exactly the same way with J.R. Smith delivering the pass this time and James catching the ball a stride outside of the high-post. If you look carefully, you see the scheme of this back-line is to draw the defender, and if they don’t draw them, with James sizing up Butler, they run the risk of getting called for defensive three seconds. You can even see Noah and Mirotic looking down to check that their feet are not in the paint. It also gives a guy like Mozgov the chance to get a running start from the short corner to grab an offensive rebound or catch a dump-off pass.

LeBron, ahem, switches pivot feet, then he takes one power dribble with left hand into the body of Butler. That power dribble and body contact forces Butler to steady himself for a shot attempt on the interior. That’s all the space LeBron needs as he goes back to his hot zone on the court for the evening.

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As much as the overload has helped the Cavaliers, I might like this set the best. James has the ball out high against Butler early in the shot clock. They start to overload, but Iman Shumpert stays in the corner of James’ side this time, subjecting Hinrich to stay close to him.

With the Cavaliers’ spacing, James is able to take Butler down into the paint as he backpedals. It allows James to comfortably step into a fadeaway from seven feet. For good measure, The King even gives a pass fake to Smith to freeze the help defender before making the jab step and taking the shot.

When the Cavs put LeBron in the middle of the floor, there are so many more options for him, and many of them are directly related to the fact that help defense becomes more painful. Helping to the middle and allowing a pass from the middle out to the wing or into the corner has a much higher chance of success than a cross-court pass when James draws a second or third defender from the opposite-side overload.

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And finally, what could turn out to be the single most important offensive rebound of the series, courtesy of Iman Shumpert. With the shot clock winding down, and Taj Gibson in the Bulls locker room, it’s Butler on James, and LeBron starts to drive, then he spins into the mid-range jumper that he had been drilling for most of the night. However, this one clanks off the side of the rim.

The first place to look is at Tristan Thompson, who is on the opposite block when the shot goes up. The key to a good rebounder is moving when the shot goes up to get and stay in good position. Tristan has Kirk Hinrich on him, because Noah is outside of the paint on the other side to help against a James drive. Tristan slides by him as the shot goes up and Hinrich hands him off to Noah for box-out responsibilities.

Tristan is able to get just enough of a hand on the ball to prevent Noah from grabbing it with one arm as he tries to pin Thompson with the other. The ball taps back, and Hinrich and Delly are both right there. Like a moth to the flame, Mike Dunleavy gets drawn into Thompson and Noah, and it leaves Iman Shumpert free to recover the second tip from the Hinrich/Delly duo. Shumpert gets his funky jazz down as he gets up high for the rebound, securing it and immediately firing it out high to Kyrie Irving, the team’s best foul shooter. Irving calmly strides to the line and knocks down both shots.

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With an efficient LeBron James, one that’s not worried about his three-point shooting and instead focuses on higher-percentage shots and driving lanes, the Cavaliers can take down anyone. That includes a Game 6 Chicago squad with Pau Gasol likely returning.

Until next time, the film room is closed!