Cleveland Cavaliers' Big 3 Finally Setting Tone for Rest of Team

LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love officially tied the knot as teammates on Aug. 23, 2014.

Their honeymoon didn't last long.

For nearly three months, they've all been attempting to intertwine their games while guiding the Cleveland Cavaliers to some wins in the process.

After 39 contests, the Big Three had led the Cavs to just a 19-20 record, a far cry from the heavy expectations bestowed upon them in the preseason. James missed nearly two weeks while recovering from a strained knee and back. Irving has tried to find his balance between scorer and distributor. Love has been benched in the fourth quarter twice already for defensive purposes.

For all of their individual struggles at times, it's clear that the Cavaliers need all three star players. While a three-game win streak may not be a huge sample size, it has given us a glimpse of just how good this trio can be.

Cleveland will only go as far as James, Irving and Love can carry it. Based off recent events, this could become a significant distance.

Growing Pains

Even though James personally handpicked Love to become his next star big man, the two haven't always seen eye to eye. According to Bleacher Report's Kevin Ding, "Plenty of people around the league have noticed James' glares at Love for poor defense."

Of the Big Three, Love has had to sacrifice the most. His scoring has dropped from 26.1 points per game last season to 17.6 this year. Love's usage percentage has plummeted from 28.8 percent down to 22.4, the lowest figure since his rookie campaign.

Irving and James have endured their own issues as well.

Remember the supposed argument following a Nov. 4 101-82 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers that Irving played off as a disagreement over favorite television shows? 

Jason Miller/Getty Images

While this certainly isn't a big deal over the course of a season, the fact that it happened after just three games together was a little alarming.

Star players have to be on the same page in order for the team to experience success. The San Antonio Spurs' trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are the shining example of this, having captured four titles in 12-plus seasons together.

While the Spurs have always featured great role players, their success has always come down to their own Big Three playing well off of each other and setting the tone for everyone else.

Cleveland's version had some early bugs to work out, but may finally be turning a corner.

Cavs' Success With/Without Big Three

After 42 games, the Cavaliers are 22-20 overall, or on pace for a record of 43-39.

However, this takes into account games that James, Love and Irving have all missed with various injuries or rest. When Cleveland fields all three of its stars, the Cavs are 19-11. That's a win percentage of .633. Average that out over an 82-game schedule, and the Cavaliers would finish at 52-30.

Keep in mind that the 19-11 record was complied mostly at the beginning of the season before James took his break. All three had never played together (save for All-Star Games and Olympic teams) and still managed to lead the Cavaliers to a very respectable success rate. It's only natural to assume this win percentage only increases with more time spent together on the court.

Cleveland's group of James, Irving, Love and Tristan Thompson is not only the Cavaliers' most successful combination, but one of the NBA's best as well.

This season, the Big Three and Thompson have an offensive rating of 120.9, the third-highest of any four-man rotation in the league, per NBA.com. Their net rating of plus-22.3 is good for eighth overall and second in the Eastern Conference.

One of the reasons that this group has clicked so well already is the variation of talent.

James can handle the ball, use Irving as a spot-up shooter to space the floor and play a pick-and-pop game with Love. Irving can play pick-and-roll with either of his star teammates, or find Love on a post-up inside. All three are shooting at least 33.5 percent or better from three this season, headlined by Irving's 37.2. Thompson does all the dirty work for this group, setting screens, rolling to the basket and often times finishing off an easy lob at the rim.

Unlike failed Big Threes of the past (like this one, or this one), Cleveland's group fits very well alongside each other and can excel in a variety of ways.

Setting the Tone

Not to say that James wasn't enjoying a nice year before resting his knee and back, but it just wasn't a typical performance from the four-time MVP.

In his first 29 games, James averaged 25.2 points and 5.3 rebounds on 48.8 percent shooting from the field. While others around the league would do anything for those kinds of numbers, there was something lacking from James.

Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images

He would often give up the ball in isolation situations, even when faced with a poor defender. When finishing at the basket, highlight dunks were being replaced with ho-hum layups. His body language was often sour, and there were times he didn't hustle back following a missed shot, putting the Cavaliers in a four-on-five hole on defense.

This wasn't the leader many expected when James announced his return home. Something had to be wrong.

As it turns out, something was.

"Earlier on in the season, like I said, I just wasn't feeling to where I needed to be," James told Dave McMenamin of ESPN. "So I'm feeling good right now. I'm shooting the ball well. I'm efficient, and I'm scoring the ball really well. My teammates are putting me in great positions to do that."

In four games since his return, James is up to 31.8 points and seven rebounds per game on 52.3 percent shooting. His explosiveness has returned, leading to plays like this:

As Terry Pluto of The Cleveland Plain Dealer pointed out, a rested and focused James makes a huge difference for the Cavaliers:

"

James needs to stay more engaged as he was Tuesday night. He had fire. He took his anger out on his opponents and the officials. We didn't see a lot of the bad body language and walking back on defense present early in the season. Maybe some of that was frustration due to his injuries. No matter, the young players watch LeBron, and they will follow his lead. James has to know that and act accordingly.

"

It's not just James who's stepped up recently, however.

Irving has put up 25.7 points and 6.7 assists on 56 percent shooting over the Cavs' past three wins. He showed the versatility that Cleveland needs, dropping 37 points against the Los Angeles Clippers before dishing out 12 assists in a victory over the Chicago Bulls.

James and Irving showed nice chemistry lately, with the former quick to noticeably congratulate the other following big plays.

While Love's numbers haven't been as sexy, his impact has been huge as well. Playing through severe back pain against the Los Angeles Lakers, Love still managed to register 17 points and seven rebounds. He didn't relax defensively either, taking a key charge from Jeremy Lin in the fourth quarter. Everyone knew Love was in pain, but he sacrificed his body in order to help the team preserve a lead.

As James told Sports Illustrated's Lee Jenkins, “There are moments in a season you know you’re taking a step forward. As a team that was a huge step forward.”

USA TODAY Sports

James knows that all eyes are on him when it comes to leading the team, even with help from Irving and Love.

“I just try to be the leader I can on the floor and try to help put our guys in the right position and help us compete. I was able to do that in the three games I’ve been back so far," James said via Rick Noland of The Chronicle-Telegram. “They follow my lead. It’s up to me to have that every game. Obviously, I’m not going to be great every game statistically, but my leadership always has to be there. I have to continue to inspire these guys and be the hard rock for them every single night we go on the floor. It’s my job. It’s what I’m here for.”

Indeed, these steps are becoming larger and more frequent now with James back in the mix.

He, Irving and Love are finally starting to come together and the Cavaliers are enjoying the results.

Greg Swartz has covered the Cleveland Cavaliers for Bleacher Report since 2010.

All stats provided by Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.