Are the Cleveland Cavaliers Still Overusing LeBron James?
Just nine games into his second tenure with the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James opened up about his heavy usage.
Up to that point, James was averaging over 39 minutes a game, his highest playing time since the 2007-08 season.
"That has to come down," James told Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group at the time. "For me, I don't want to do that all year."
James had a good point. On a team with Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving and others, he shouldn't have to play close to 40 minutes a night. The Cavs have other options to go to on the offensive end, while guys like Shawn Marion and Tristan Thompson can take over defensive responsibilities against opposing forwards.
Now over a month later, are the Cavaliers managing James' minutes better, or is his usage still a cause for concern?
Why Minutes Matter
On Dec. 30, James will celebrate birthday No. 30. For someone who burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old high school phenom, it's hard to fathom he's already reached the big 3-0.
While James is still a physical marvel, he's no longer the athletic freak of yesteryear.
It's been over 11 years since he first stepped onto a NBA court. 1,000-plus games later, James is inevitably starting to slow down.
James has always kept himself in phenomenal shape. Despite employing a physical style of play, his durability has been excellent. In 11-plus NBA seasons, James has never missed more than seven games in any one year.
Still, how long can this last?
James relies on his athleticism on both ends of the floor. While he's become a much better shooter throughout his career, it's hard to envision him transitioning into a strictly floor-spacing role player a la Vince Carter.
The Cavs need to preserve him the best they can, allowing James to maintain his athletic prowess for as long as possible.
Earlier in his career, James logged more playing time than any sensible coach today would ask of their star player. From 2003-2008, James averaged 41.1 minutes a night, including a league-high 42.4 in 2004-05.
For Cavs coach David Blatt, this is certainly something to take into consideration moving forward, especially since James plans on finishing his career in Cleveland.
Blatt addressed James' playing time back in October to Vardon, acknowledging he'd like to keep his star player's minutes below his career average of 39.5.
I don't have a number but I am cognizant of the fact and we are conscious of the fact that, certainly early on 39 minutes a game is a lot," Blatt said. "We gotta keep our wits about us in terms of thinking long term with LeBron."
Indeed they do, but how has it gone thus far?
Current Usage
James is currently averaging 37.7 minutes per game. Only Chicago Bulls shooting guard Jimmy Butler (40.1), Houston Rockets forward Trevor Ariza (38.3) and teammate Irving (37.9) see more court time.
While it's a drop of almost two minutes off his career average, it's probably still too much run for the soon-to-be 30-year-old. The numbers aren't trending in the right direction, either. In 13 November games, James saw action for 36.7 minutes. So far in 11 December contests, he's up to 38 minutes.
A look around the league tells us that superstars don't necessary have to play over 36 minutes to have a major impact on their team.
Kobe Bryant is suiting up for 35.4 minutes with the Los Angeles Lakers. The New Orleans Pelicans play Anthony Davis 35 ticks a night. MVP candidate Stephen Curry sees just 33.5 minutes for the Golden State Warriors. Keeping minutes low for players like James not only assists them for the playoffs, but for future postseason appearances as well.
We've already begun to witness a change in James' playing style, likely due to his increase in age and usage.
While previously a high-flyer who could throw down thunderous dunks with the best of them, James has taken on a more grounded style of play. Just six percent of his total baskets come via the dunk this year. This is a noticeable drop from his first 11 seasons, where James slammed home 7.9 percent of his shot attempts.
Along with his decrease in dunks, we've seen James settle for more three-pointers. Heading into 2014-15, 19.9 percent of his career shot attempts were from deep. This year, he's up to 24.5 percent.
It's not just the minutes this season that are starting to take their toll, but James' collective body of work. This is a player who has been to the playoffs nine straight seasons and devotes time to the USA Olympic Basketball team as well. This all adds up to plenty of wear and tear, notes Vardon:
"Counting playoffs and Olympic basketball, he's played more than 41,000 minutes already. He's had back issues and recently a sore knee. He's admitted he's a little less explosive than he used to be. He wants to be at his best come May and June, when he hopes the Cavaliers are playing deep into the playoffs.
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Given that he ranks fourth among all NBA players in minutes per night, it's safe to say that, yes, the Cavaliers are overusing James.
The real kicker? It's not exactly their fault.
LeBron to Blame?
One can't exactly blame coach Blatt or the Cavaliers for their over-usage of James, because, well, it's kind of his fault.
That is, Blatt doesn't call for James to come into games, but rather lets him choose when he wants to play.
Cleveland appears to have a plan in place that has James on the court for the entire first and third quarters. He gets a quick breather at the start of the second quarter, and the fourth quarter depends on how the game is progressing. It's not unusual for James to play well into the fourth before taking his first break of the second half.
If it's a tight game, like so many have been in the Cavaliers' 17-11 start, James often chooses to log a little extra time. These have henceforth become known as the stolen minutes, notes Vardon:
"Blatt said James knows the plan, but he "steals a minute or two" sometimes when he bounds off the bench early and strolls to the scorer's table. If the ball stops and the horn blows, James takes the floor.
"I'm not going to tell him to go sit down," Blatt said."When he's engaged and he feels good, then we go with it as long as it's not exaggerated or debilitative."
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Nothing against Blatt, but it's remarkably clear who's running the team.
"I don't really think about the minutes I'm playing when I'm out on the floor," James told Vardon. "I feel it after the game, obviously, but I don't think about it when I'm out there. I'm all about team and that's all that matters, so, if some games they need to be out there 40 minutes I can do it, or if it's 20 minutes I'll do it as well."
No one is forcing James to play these extra, stolen minutes. He chooses to do so on his own. Call it a trust issue or trying to establish a role on a new team, but James has no one to blame for his heavy playing time but himself. Perhaps in no other place on Earth can one find a basketball player dictating his own playing time without any fear of consequences from the coach.
James needs to make a change. Blatt needs to make a change. They need to sit down and re-evaluate what's best for both LeBron and the Cavaliers now and in the future.
The Cavs aren't overusing James. He's overusing himself.
Greg Swartz has covered the Cleveland Cavaliers for Bleacher Report since 2010.
All stats provided by Basketball-Reference unless otherwise noted.
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