Why a LeBron James Injury Is What the Cavaliers Need Most

The Cleveland Cavaliers' trade rumor mill is running on overdrive this offseason, but the real problems aren't with their roster.

What the Cavs need is for LeBron James to go out with an injury.

Not a bad injury—not a season-ender. They need LeBron out of the lineup for a few weeks of the 2009-2010 season, tops.

It's enough time for his teammates to learn how to step it up.

The Cavaliers had a fantastic season in 2008-2009, leading the league and setting a franchise mark with their 66-16 record. They only lost, in effect, one game on their home floor (the garbage-time loss to the Sixers, in which their starters didn't even dress, doesn't count) and took home individual bling for MVP LeBron James and Coach of the Year Mike Brown.

LeBron's hired help showed up to play, too. Mo Williams led the team in scoring 11 times, including 43 and 44-point outings in January and February. Delonte West often led the offense when LeBron was on the bench, and his versatility and three-point shooting were indispensable.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas continued to be 7'3" and paired up with 6'11" Anderson Varejao to comprise a serviceable frontcourt. The Cavaliers were third in the league in rebounding differential (averaging 3.3 more than their opponents, plus an unreal +5.4 in the playoffs), and Ilgauskas led the team in scoring on five separate occasions.

The problems, then, aren't with the personnel.

The biggest Achilles' heel of the Cavs' season was undoubtedly their inability to rise to the occasion in big games. They went 2-6 against the league's other elite teams (the Celtics, Magic, and Lakers) and famously collapsed against Orlando in the Eastern Conference Finals, losing the series 4-2.

In the regular season losses, the problem is easily traced to LeBron having bad games (either struggling on his own or being stifled by good defense) and his teammates not picking up the slack. The King averaged 34.9 percent shooting, compared to 59.8 percent in the wins over Boston and Orlando—and in only two of those six losses did he have a teammate score more than 16 points.

The losses to Orlando in the playoffs, however, are a different story. LeBron put on an all-time great performance, averaging 38.5 points per game on 47.8 percent shooting, plus eight rebounds and eight assists per outing. He won Game Two for the Cavs with a buzzer-beating trey.

And Game Four? LeBron scored or assisted on the team's last 32 points.

So where was this help that supposedly came in the offseason moves? Comparing each starter's season scoring average to their average in the Orlando series sheds some light on the problem.

Williams averaged 17.8 points per game in the regular season and 18.3 against Orlando. Ilgauskas averaged 12.9 in the regular season and 10.2 against Orlando. West averaged 11.7 and 14.5. Varejao put in 8.6 and 8.7.

The difference? Almost nothing. And that's exactly the problem.

None of the Cavaliers, with the obvious exception of LeBron, stepped up their game on the big stage. While the Cavs may have had the better team, the Magic put together a better performance—a gritty, passionate, playoffs-style performance—and that's why they advanced to the Finals.

It never should have ended the way it did. This is a team with tools.

Williams and West are versatile starting guards. Boobie Gibson comes off the bench and adds a deep threat (he was pivotal in the 2007 Finals run). Ilgauskas and Varejao are backed up in the middle by Ben Wallace and Joe Smith, both experienced and capable big men who can make their presence felt.

But the Orlando series revealed some flaws, especially in the backcourt.

Williams lacks leadership experience. In Milwaukee he backed up T.J. Ford and then started alongside the likes of Richard Jefferson, Michael Redd, Charlie Villanueva, and Andrew Bogut—making Williams the fifth-best-known starter on that team.

West's story is in the same vein. His most productive season with Boston was 2006-2007, when the Celtics won only 29 percent of their games. He was traded the following season to the Sonics, who won 24 percent of their games that season, before he finally arrived in Cleveland.

Neither of these guards, talented as they might be, had ever been asked to rise to an occasion like the Eastern Conference Finals before this year.

So maybe what the Cavaliers really need is some time without LeBron as a crutch. With The Chosen One on the bench, they'd be called upon to shoulder the offense and take over games. Then, with LeBron reinserted into the offense, they'd have their first option back—plus several backup options that know how to step up.

Nobody wants LeBron to be injured. But maybe what the Cavs need is a reminder that they can play without him.