NBA Rumors: Cleveland Cavaliers' Playoff Struggles Could Pave the Way for LeBron James to Head to the Los Angeles Lakers
The Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James has a near-endless list of accomplishments under his belt.
Among his coolest accomplishments is the fact that he has historically dominated opponents in the first round.
Prior to this postseason, James went five years (2013–2017) without ever losing a first-round playoff game. Within that stretch of time, James-led Miami Heat teams swept the Milwaukee Bucks and the then Charlotte Bobcats.
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When James returned to the Cavaliers in the summer of 2014, he promptly resumed handing out first round beatdowns, as his teams swept the Boston Celtics, the Detroit Pistons and, most recently, the 2016–17 Indiana Pacers.
Given the historic level of dominance James has enjoyed over his first-round opponents, many NBA fans expected him and the Cavaliers to once again handle the Pacers with ease this postseason.
Things have not turned out that way thus far, however.
The Cavaliers somewhat surprisingly lost Game 1 at home to Victor Oladipo-led Pacers in a blowout and after narrowly escaping with a Game 2 win, they again came up short to the Pacers in the pivotal third game of the series.
James now finds himself in an unfamiliar position — in danger of being eliminated from the postseason by a first-round foe — and to make matters worse for him, this is all happening despite him putting up eye-popping numbers.
Through the first three games of this postseason, James is averaging nearly 33 points to go with 8.3 assists and 11.3 rebounds per contest, according to NBA.com. He has been dominant, but the rest of the Cavaliers are having a tough time keeping up.
It seemed unthinkable just a few days ago, but now, there's a real chance that the Cavaliers could lose in the first round.
If the Pacers can indeed take care of business and defeat the Cavaliers, the rumblings indicating that James will go to another team this summer will grow even louder.
The Los Angeles Lakers, in particular, may be keeping their eyes glued to James.
Speaking recently to ESPN Los Angeles, noted NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski stated that the Lakers' plans have not really changed and that they are still looking to sign both James and Paul George who is currently playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
There's a belief that James final decision regarding his free agency will hinge on how far the Cavaliers will go this postseason. If that's the case, then a first round exit may indicate to James that he should take his talents elsewhere if he wants a better shot at winning more NBA titles.
Of course, even if James does leave the Cavaliers, the Lakers will likely not be the only team after him. The Houston Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers and even the Portland Trail Blazers could make offers to James, and it's not out of the realm of possibility that he signs with one of those teams.
The one thing that is clear though is that things aren't going well right now for the Cavaliers, and there's a chance for things to get worse in the not too distant future.
