LeBron Forced to Shoulder Load Once More

Down 2-0 to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers have looked like a JV squad so far against the defending champs. A series that was hyped up beforehand due to it being a rematch and the way Cleveland breezed through the Eastern Conference bracket has become a slaughter that has left fans and analysts wondering if it's already over.

As always, no one is more polarizing than James, the native son who is once again trying to bring home a championship to a city that desperately covets one. Lyndon B. Johnson was in office the last time Cleveland was crowned champions in any of the four major sports, but with a healthy Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, it seemed this might be the year for the Cavs.

Yet here we are, once again, wondering where LeBron James' running mates are. It's become a theme of LeBron's career in the playoffs: he handpicks his teammates, his teams dominate the regular season and then his sidekicks play their worst basketball in the playoffs, while James takes the scrutiny for the losses.

The 2016 Finals are just the latest example. While James shot poorly and turned the ball over seven times in Game 2, he has still averaged 21 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists through the first two games. He's shooting 42 percent from the field, including 3-of-9 from beyond the arc. He leads his team in steals and blocks as well.

His Game 2 performance was a mixed bag as Golden State's defense has done a fantastic job frustrating him, and for James there is no room for error. His help has been virtually nonexistent leaving him with no choice but to take over, something he has not done yet. Irving missed all but one game of the Finals last season, and opened this year's Finals with a pair of poor-shooting performances. His 26 points led all scorers in Game 1, but he shot just 7-for-22 from the field and 1-for-4 from 3-point land. He followed it up with a 5-for-14 night, which was good for just 10 points. 

Love, whose status is uncertain for Game 3 due to a concussion, had no issues on the offensive end in Game 1. He scored 17 points and hauled in 13 rebounds, but struggled in Game 2 before exiting with the concussion. He scored five points on 2-for-7 shooting in 21 minutes of play. Where Love has struggled has been defensively as Draymond Green has carved the Cavs up, averaging a series-high 22 points.

Beyond Love and Irving, the rollercoaster ride that is J.R. Smith seems to be at a low point currently. Smith has taken only nine shots and scored only eight points in the two games so far, while Iman Shumpert has taken four shots and scored six points. What's this mean? The Cavs are relying far too heavily on 35-year-old Richard Jefferson and junkyard dog Matthew Dellavedova to score. 

James, who could fall to 2-5 all-time in the Finals with two more losses, has to see Golden State's style of play and wish he had that luxury. Golden State is up 2-0 in the series and Steph Curry and Klay Thompson have averaged 14.5 and 13 points, respectively. However, five players for the Warriors are averaging double figures and seven players are averaging nine points or more. Truly, Golden State's strength is in numbers.

Meanwhile, James will either need his supporting cast to step up or he will need to take over like he did in last season's Finals. If it's the latter, Golden State will no doubt be crowned champions. They are overwhelmingly a better team top to bottom and it will take more than just LeBron James to take them down. 

The first two games beg the question: has any superstar before been hung out to dry by his teammates as much as LeBron James? James' career will have him in the conversation of the all-time greats, but his teammates' shortcomings, and what it's cost him, in the playoffs will inevitably be his shortcoming in that conversation. 

Curry Can Cement Status With Finals Win

Steph Curry's meteoric rise to the top of the NBA is almost complete. The kid from Davidson who
captured the nation's attention during a 2008 NCAA Tournament run fought through a host of ankle injuries early in his NBA career and became just the tenth player in league history to win back-to-back MVP awards this season.

He led the Golden State Warriors to the 2015 NBA title, shattering shooting records in the process. For an encore, he's led the Warriors to the regular-season wins record at 73-9, while shattering those same shooting records again. Curry hit 286 3-pointers last season and then knocked down 402 this year. He elevated his scoring average by 6.3 points per game and averaged more rebounds and steals than a year ago. He shot more 3-pointers and two-point field goals than last season, but still shot a higher percentage this season. For all of that, he was voted the first ever unanimous MVP in NBA history.

Many think he's the league's best player and why not? The numbers paint a picture of somebody who will go down in history as one of the game's greatest, but there's still one other man vying for that title. As long as LeBron James is in the league, he will always be in the conversation. At 31 years old and in his 13th NBA season, James can put up 25/7/7 any given night. He's been widely considered the league's best player for years, but that title is slipping away with every late-game dagger from Curry.

Curry's Warriors defeated James' Cavaliers in six games during last year's Finals, but if Curry is to cement his status as the league's best then he will need to defeat James again this year. The Cavs limped through the Finals last season with Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving sitting due to injuries. J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert were exceptionally bad, shooting 31 and 25 percent in the series, respectively.

Curry was his usual self, averaging 26/5/6, while James gave us a performance for the ages, putting the team on his back and averaging 36/13/9. This season it's the Cavs who look unstoppable, advancing the Finals with a 12-2 playoff record. With the exception of an 0-2 trip to Toronto in the conference finals, Cleveland has mowed down any and all opposition. Love and Irving are healthy and playing well, while Tyronn Lue has made this Cavs team his own.

Golden State has battled the championship-or-bust expectations, a Curry knee injury and the Oklahoma City Thunder on its way to the Finals. The Warriors have lost five games in the playoffs, which seems alarming after their rampage through the regular season (fun fact: if they lose the Finals to Cleveland, they will have as many playoff losses as regular season losses. Puts that regular season in perspective a bit).

Despite the long road to the Finals and the Cavs' dominance, Golden State has Curry, Klay Thompson and a host of role players who give them quality minutes. Any team that can shoot like Golden State can win any game. For Curry, a win would mean back-to-back titles to go along with back-to-back MVPs. The only other point guard to accomplish that feat? Magic Johnson.

By defeating James two years in a row, Curry would thoroughly announce to the world that he is the game's greatest, but he would also carve out a spot in the NBA history books with a win. It's the game within the game, and it's a game that will surely not disappoint.