DaytonDailyNews.com

The Cleveland Cavaliers did what I wanted them to and with enough detail that it seemed my thoughts went straight to General Manager Danny Ferry's mind. They brought in shooters to take scoring pressure off LeBron James, the 23-year-old superstar presently being vilified for being, well, maybe a little overrated.

Forget that he led the NBA in scoring this season and he is the third-youngest player to post 15 triple doubles, behind Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson.

The matter at hand is that LeBron and his minions are trailing the Boston Celtics 2-0 going into tonight's (May 10) third game, the first of this playoff series in Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena. For sure, LeBron's performances in the first two games have been less than stellar.

There is a reason for that.

LeBron, at 6-foot-9 and somewhere around 260 pounds, brings the ball up court and starts the offense. The obvious counter is to send two and sometimes three defenders at him as he approaches the 3-point arc. He has the option to pass, but the Celtics have anticipated that and covered.

Cavs coach Mike Brown needs to adjust. Let point guard Delonte West bring the ball up while James takes a position close to the basket. Get the ball to him and let him attack Boston's skinny frontcourt.

Former NBA point guard Mark Jackson said LeBron should play power forward and the Cavs should use a smaller lineup.

In other words, put in the shooters such as Daniel Gibson, Wally Szczerbiak and West. With those guys in, LeBron can move to the hoop, pass to open shooters if double-teamed or take it to the hole if not. Should work.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2160

or gsimms@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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