As the Golden State Warriors became the hottest team in the league under Steve Kerr, launching so many deep 3s while moving the ball quickly to find those shooters, most of the league took note. 

The Cleveland Cavaliers were one of the exceptions, armed with two brilliant iso-players in Kyrie Irving and LeBron James. Each of them was special enough as a playmaker to create good or even great shots for teammates thanks to his brilliant one-on-one play. 

Experts often derided them, focusing on the success of other offenses with lesser talent. Then a funny thing happened last season. The San Antonio Spurs, owners of “.5” offenses in which players had a half-second to move the ball, shoot, or attack, started featuring Kawhi Leonard in isolations much like Cleveland. Had he not gotten hurt, it’s entirely possible the Spurs could have beaten the Warriors in their Western Conference Finals matchup. 

This year, we see Houston featuring James Harden in more isos than any single player in basketball, a move that has led to the Rockets being the best team in basketball to date, with Harden the heavy favorite to win his first MVP award. Following a Herculean effort by LeBron in a road win at Denver on Wednesday, James admitted he might be better than he has ever been as a player. 

So it stands to reason that adding a new throng of players to his greatness means we will be seeing LeBron playing alone in space while his teammates stand and watch, ready to shoot if he draws too much help. It’s too early to draw meaning in any statistics just yet with this new group (except its increased athleticism looks to be helping its defense), but watching the Cavs play leaves one idea very clear: Cleveland is not just watching LeBron be a superhero. 

At least not the entire game, that is. 

Here are my game notes from their first five possessions in Denver:

Possession 1: “Corners” action with Larry Nance Jr. in pinch post. LeBron takes a handoff and finds Smith for a wing 3.

Possession 2: George Hill gets down court early for a quick ball screen for LeBron and then pops. Two passes later, he finds JR Smith open for 3.

Possession 3: Nance pushes the ball off his rebound and swings quickly to LeBron, who immediately finds Hill open opposite corner for 3.

Possession 4: Early drag screen and roll with Nance and Lebron’s ball push. Bron slides a beautiful pocket pass to Nance.

Possession 5: Early swing to Nance in trail post slot. He runs dribble weave with Hood. Hood finds Lebron on wing who hits Nance open in short corner.

Cleveland leads 7-2 after 2:10 of time. All five players have touched the ball. Everyone but Lebron has taken a shot. Every shot was open.

Now don’t think this is something we have never seen before. LeBron has had plenty of games where he made things happen for teammates to start the game. It’s a common mission for him and many great scorers who are also gifted passers. They ran quick, fluid actions resulting in great looks each time. I’m certain coach Tyronn Lue could not have been happier with how they started this game on offense.

Remember this team is still weeks from jelling. It should not be surprised that, faced with a tight game, the Cavs devolved some. 

As Lebron got his typical early fourth-quarter rest, Denver took a two-point lead. His next five possessions, starting with eight minutes left in the game, are in my notes as this (I discounted one possession, as a Denver player got hurt so the Nuggets fouled):

Possession 1: LeBron as PG, pin down action for Korver for 3 (forced it a bit).

Possession 2: LeBron post-up iso-turnaround contested jumper; offensive tip-out led to open 3.

Possession 3: Bad transition offense led to scramble tip-out that found Jeff Green open for 3.

Possession 4: LeBron feeds Green in post for a contested jumper.

Possession 5: LeBron in mid-post hits Korver off pindown. Korver shoots very quickly before the contest comes.

Cleveland goes up by three thanks to two 3s coming off tip-outs.

This was awful basketball. The kind that will make it tough on Cleveland to beat Toronto four times and leaves the Cavaliers basically no chance to do the same versus Houston or Golden State.

With just over two minutes left in the game, Cleveland still had a two-point lead. Here are the final possession notes:

Possession 1: LeBron runs through a Nance ball screen and then Nance gets a screen from Rodney Hood as he rolls (Spain action). This leaves Hood open for a shot but he shot-fakes, attacks slightly, and misses a forced jumper.

Possession 2: LeBron had his team spread out while he dribbled high left of center, then got Nance to come set a screen. Nikola Jokic iced it (he stayed back near the rim) and LeBron easily scored the and-1.

Possession 3: Same exact setup, only this time LeBron had Hill come set a second screen after Nance lifted up to set the first screen. This confused Denver and LeBron hit an open 3.

Possession 4: Same setup with LeBron on the right side of the court when Nance arrived for the screen. LeBron used the screen to the right and “snaked” back to the left, making a tough mid-range fallaway jumper. 

Possession 5: Same spread, Lebron tells two different teammates to stop coming up for a screen, instead of going one on one vs. Wilson Chandler and making a very tough fallaway jumper from almost the same spot he had just taken the last one.

Cleveland wins.

What we can glean from this is murky at best. History tells us LeBron does not easily trust teammates late in games. He isn’t alone among superstars in this. Trusting them early in a road game in March is one thing. Trusting them late in a playoff series is another thing entirely. 

LeBron is not right to suggest he is better now than he ever has been. A younger version of himself would loudly snicker at that idea, given how poor he and his team have been on defense this year (better since the trade, though). 

It’s great that he feels that good about where his game is, especially if he is going to carry all of the late-game burden. 

Consider my notes from those final five possessions. After Hood missed badly, no Cavs player touched the ball again. That worked in Denver, but it's less likely to work in Toronto and will not work in the Finals. Not enough to lead to a ring, anyway. 

A Cleveland offense that looks like a combination of the first five and last five possessions against Denver can be dynamic enough to help the Cavs outscore any opponent. For that to happen, LeBron's teammates have to earn his belief that they can do what Kyrie did for them the past two postseasons. 

They have about a month left to make that happen.