Monday, May 28, 2018

Checking in on The King

LeBron's GOAT trail has already been detailed to great length on this blog. But what he's done this year (so far) deserves an update. Let's recap the stunning display of dominance, durability, and longevity that's continued in this, his 15th season.

Before the playoffs:
  • At age 33, had career highs in assists per game (9.1), rebounds per game (8.6), games played (all 82), and averaged his most points since 2010 (27.5).
  • Top-five in MVP voting for a 13th consecutive season, breaking his tie with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most all-time.
  • 12th first-team All-NBA selection, passing Karl Malone and Kobe Bryant (11) for most ever.
  • Scored in double figures in 873 consecutive regular season games (and counting), passing Jordan's record of 866.
  • He is now the only player in NBA history to amass 30,000+ career points, 8,000+ career assists, and 8,000+ career rebounds. Nobody else even has 7,000 assists and 7,000 rebounds.

 To the playoffs! (Many stats credit to StatMuse). Let's start big picture.
  • He has still never missed a playoff game. 235 straight.
  • Passed Scottie Pippen for most steals in postseason history.
  • Passed Kareem for most field goals made in postseason history.
  • Third player in NBA history with at least seven 40-point games in one postseason. Jordan also had seven in 1989. Jerry West had eight in 1965. Something tells me there might be another couple in the tank for the Finals.
  • LeBron has now won 24 consecutive Eastern Conference playoff series. 
  • 24. In a row.
  • LeBron now has five game-winners at the buzzer in his postseason career. Jordan had three. Kobe had one.
  • In the Eastern Conference playoffs, he's still never been swept, still never even been down 0-3 in a series. 
  • NBA-record 34.2 points-per-game in elimination games. Jordan is second at 31.3 PPG.
  • NBA-record 14 career playoff games with 40 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists.
  • NBA-record 11 career playoff games with 40+ points on 60% shooting from the field, passing Jordan.
  • NBA-record 32 consecutive playoff series with a road win. Jordan is second at 24.
  • NBA-record 12 consecutive playoff games leading team in points and assists, passing Oscar Robertson's streak of 10. Streak only snapped when Love outscored him 17-15 in game one blowout loss to Celtics.

 To the first round against Indiana!
  • LeBron has still never lost in the first round. The Indiana series was the first time a team had even forced game seven.
  • NBA-record streak of playoff games with 20+ points, 5+ assists, 5+ rebounds ended at 18. Second-highest streak ever is also LeBron, with 11 such games.

 Onward to Toronto! AKA sweeping aside the top seed in the east that structured their offseason regiment around taking down The King.
  • First player in NBA postseason history to record 40+ points and 14 assists in one game.
  • In NBA postseason history, there have been eight 40-point triple-double performances. LeBron has three of them.
  • LeBron's 11.3 APG against Toronto were a career high for a playoff series.

 And to Boston, that sweet, sweet cherry on top, covered in orange juice.
  • Including the regular season, LeBron has faced the Celtics an astounding 90 times.
  • This series was only the fourth time in LeBron's career (in 36 chances) he had been down 0-2 in an Eastern Conference playoff series. He's now 8-0 in games 3 and 4 following that 0-2 hole. 8-0!
  • Became the oldest player to score at least 45 points in a conference finals game, passing Jordan.
  • Became the oldest player to record a triple-double in a conference finals game, passing Tim Duncan.
  • Recorded his fifth career triple-double in the Eastern Conference Finals, passing Boston's own Larry Bird for most all time.
  • Speaking of Boston, in their storied postseason history, the Celtics have lost by 30+ points only seven times. Three of those seven were at the hands of LeBron.
  • Also in their storied postseason history, Boston had been 37-0 when leading a playoff series 2-0.
In bringing the Cavs back from their 3-2 deficit against Boston, LeBron became the first player in conference finals history to lead all players in points, assists, and rebounds in back-to-back games. (And let's not forget Kevin Love, the only other player on the Cavs roster that has even whiffed an All-Star game, was out for most of game six and all of game seven.) 

LeBron also lead all players in an Eastern Conference finals series in total points, rebounds, and assists for the third time in his career. That has only ever been done by Larry Bird. He did it one time, in 1984.

With the come-from-behind series win, LeBron dug himself out of an 0-2 hole for the third time in his career, something that's only been done 20 times in a seven-game series in NBA history. The deciding victory was his sixth consecutive (!) game seven win. His last game seven loss came against Boston in 2008, a team he has eliminated from the playoffs in their five subsequent meetings.

But the real reason people in Boston hate LeBron is because of his whiny beard-face. Got nothing to do with how he keeps beating their ass.

Of course, all this adds up to LeBron's eighth straight appearance in the NBA Finals. 

It bears repeating. Eight years have passed since an NBA Finals was played sans LeBron.

Eight years ago, like when Jayson Tatum, the Celtics best LeBron counterpart, was in middle school. When Kobe Bryant had just signed a three-year, $87 million contract extension with the Lakers. When Zero Dark Thirty mode wasn't even a thing, because Instagram didn't exist, and LeBron's Twitter account was barely a year old.

And, most importantly, it's when the finale of Lost had just aired, and nobody was sure if they still had to go back:


Right there, that's the whole Eastern Conference playing out before your eyes. There's the broken, the tortured, screaming, we can't allow this to keep happening! We have to do something! He's not supposed to keep winning!

And there's the rest, shooting them a somber look of resignation before getting in their car and driving away. Can't you see there's nothing we can do? Try and be happy with your life as it is now. Try and accept it. This is the world we live in, the world of LeBron. 

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