LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers Are Better Equipped for NBA Finals This Time

Going 2-of-45 is hardly an accomplishment in basketball, but the Cleveland Cavaliers should be thrilled with these new figures.

For just the second time in their 45-year franchise history, the Cavaliers have advanced to the NBA Finals. They finished off a surprising sweep of the No. 1 seed Atlanta Hawks by dominating Game 4, 118-88.

Against tremendous odds, Cleveland is an NBA-best 12-2 in these playoffs despite missing starting power forward Kevin Love since the opening round. Kyrie Irving also missed two games dealing with knee tendinitis, while Iman Shumpert (groin) and J.R. Smith (two-game suspension) dealt with their own issues.

Despite these ailments, the Cavaliers have pushed on. Winners of their last six playoff games (two without Irving, all minus Love), the Cavaliers somehow, someway plowed through the Eastern Conference and now find themselves just four victories away from the franchise's first NBA championship.

The Cavaliers will quickly realize that the Western Conference is a completely different beast. Staring down a likely matchup with the 67-win Golden State Warriors, can LeBron James and the Cavs continue to keep up their strong yet improbable play?

Same Franchise, Different Teams, Similar Paths

James has been here before.

The only other time the Cavaliers reached the NBA Finals was in 2007 on a team led by James that featured a scrappy bench hustler named Anderson Varejao. Here's how the '07 and '15 Cavs stack up:

Now, these are the only two players on the 15-man roster who remain. While others have experience, even rings to their name, none have been tasked with completing a full playoff run while donning a Cavaliers uniform.

Version	Record	Scoring	Points Allowed	Off. Rating	Def. Rating
2007	50-32	96.8	92.9	105.5	101.3
2015	53-29	103.1	98.7	111.1	106.3

James' previous Cavs' gang preferred to slow the ball down under Mike Brown, instead focusing on the defensive end of the floor. Their offense was at times stagnant, isolation-heavy and downright boring. Many nights it appeared Brown's offensive strategy would be to give James the ball, cross your fingers and hope for the best.

Most of the time, it worked.

This group of Cavaliers is far more advanced offensively. They love to shoot the three, get out in transition and move the ball to the hot hand. Defensively, the numbers don't nearly compare to '07, although it appears Cleveland is starting to turn things around heading into the Finals.

James, and the cast around him, have greatly evolved over eight years.

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

In 2007 James was just 22, already with the organization on his back. There was no Irving, no Love to help him shoulder the load. Around James sat a starting lineup of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Drew Gooden, Sasha Pavlovic and Larry Hughes. Rookie Daniel Gibson, Eric Snow, Donyell Marshall and Damon Jones rounded out the reserves.

Facing a dangerous and experienced Detroit Pistons team just three years removed from a title, there appeared to be little hope for Cleveland to even make it out of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Cavs dropped the first two games in Detroit and faced a huge hole to climb out of behind such a questionable roster.

Still, somehow, someway, the Cavaliers moved on.

James averaged 25.7 points, 9.2 rebounds and 8.5 assists against the Pistons, including a Game 5 performance that ranks as one of the best of all time.

Cleveland went on to win four straight games, knocking the mighty Pistons from their podium atop the East. Detroit finished the season with the No. 1 seed and had a veteran core with no true superstar, instead emphasizing ball movement and defense.

Sound familiar?

Much like he did to the Pistons in 2007, James has taken off his glasses, pulled on a cape and lifted the Cavaliers over the Hawks and into the NBA Finals.

Unlike '07, the final postseason results could be very, very different.

Big Hurdles

After James lifted the Cavs past the Pistons, a powerhouse San Antonio Spurs team awaited.

Even with a shaky supporting cast, the Cavaliers were dealt a blow when Hughes, the team's second-leading scorer, was limited to two games with plantar fascia. Gibson was forced into the starting role, and a suffocating Spurs defense held James to just 35.6 percent shooting in the series.

The Pistons were good, but the Spurs were elite.

Cleveland would eventually get swept, with San Antonio's talent and experience proving to be too much for James and his disappointing supporting cast.

Joe Murphy/Getty Images

The Warriors now present the same type of problems for the Cavs that the Spurs once did. Golden State is an elite team on both ends of the ball with star power (Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson) and defensive stoppers (Draymond Green, Andrew Bogut) everywhere you look.

The good news for the Cavaliers?

James' supporting cast is leaps and bounds above what he had in '07.

Better Chances

No longer will a rebounding power forward be the second-leading scorer as Gooden was against the Spurs. No longer will a second-round draft pick play nearly 35 minutes per game. No longer will the starting point guard average less than two assists.

Even without Love, general manager David Griffin has given James the tools he needs to succeed.

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Tristan Thompson (11.8 points, 11.0 rebounds, 1.8 blocks in East Finals) won't have to score at Gooden's '07 rate. He can continue to focus on rebounding, defense and setting screens for the ball-handler.

While Gibson did all he could as an emergency starter, the Cavs now have Shumpert and Smith to turn to on the wing. The two combined for 27.5 points, 14.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists against the Hawks while playing excellent defense and knocking down open three-pointers.

James won't have to worry about the ball sticking when it leaves his hands this time, as Irving, Matthew Dellavedova and even Smith have been effective distributors at times. The Cavaliers averaged just 16.5 assists against the Spurs in the '07 Finals, a far cry from their 21.0 against the Hawks.

Not having Love hurts the offense, but the Cavaliers have appeared much better without him defensively.

Inserting Thompson (1.8 blocks) into the starting lineup was one of coach David Blatt's best moves of the season. Shumpert (28.3 percent opponent three-point shooting) has been the lockdown perimeter defender James lacked in Cleveland before, and Timofey Mozgov (92.9 defensive rating) continues to wreak havoc on any opponent who dares drive the lane.

Beyond them, the Cavaliers have additional shooters with James Jones and Mike Miller, interior muscle with Kendrick Perkins and defensive versatility in Shawn Marion.

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Cleveland is much deeper and more talented than the version James once lifted in a similar fashion in '07.

Even without Love and a less than 100 percent Irving, James and the Cavaliers have a chance to finish what they started so many years ago.

It's once again time for James to lift Cleveland to a place it's rarely been against a foe that many would deem superior. While James certainly won't have to go it alone anymore, the task for a championship still falls squarely on his shoulders.

Greg Swartz has covered the Cleveland Cavaliers and NBA for Bleacher Report since 2010. All stats provided by Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.