LeBron James and his band. (Photo : Reuters)
LeBron James is the big difference in this year's NBA Finals. No doubt. So far.
Try switching teams with the league sanctioned MVP Stephen Curry and the Cavs will most probably be down 0-3 right now instead of up 2-1.
That's how much the unofficial MVP had impacted his team and the series' first three games.
The numbers had been other-worldly: 44-8-6 in Game 1; 39-16-11 in Game 2; and 40-12-8 in Game 3. His Finals' stat lines are unprecedented and breaking all-time records. (Source: Bleacher Report)
But what's more significant is James' ability to gather his teammates, bring out the best in them, and lead them into battle leaving everything behind. They will fight, whatever the cost, even cramping legs, hyperextended shoulders, and broken chairs or benches.
That is the sign of a true difference-maker. One who has the ability to uplift rejected and "middling talent" (as Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix had coined it) around him to heights that they have never dreamed about.
Matthew Dellavedova is an undrafted player, Tristan Thompson is an undersized power forward, Timofey Mozgov is a Russian 7-footer, and J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert are Knicks rejects, but thanks to James they are all playing right now "as if their life is on the line," as per Kobe Bryant.
If ever the Cavs pull off this championship, LeBron would have done what Michael Jordan - the greatest player to ever play the game - or Magic Johnson or Bill Russell, or even Kobe himself, did not do: win an NBA title with so little around him.
This is something foreign to James, and would be his most meaningful crown if ever, considering the All-Star talents that he had with him in getting his first two rings.
The Golden State Warriors are supposed to be the best team in the NBA right now. They were anointed by "wise" basketball analysts as the NBA champions as early as February. With a regular season-best 67-15 record, they are supposed to thrash everyone blocking their path to the championship, and have done so all postseason long. Until now.
The question now is, can LeBron sustain this kind of leadership and play for the rest of the Finals? No one knows for this is a first-time occurrence.
