The Cleveland Cavaliers avoided returning to Cleveland down 3-1 by the skin of their teeth with a Game 4 win that, frankly, felt like a miracle after a catastrophic second half. LeBron James was forced to play 46 minutes, and he put up only nine points in the second half after scoring 23 in the first. The Cavaliers were saved by poor shooting from Victor Oladipo and Darren Collison down the stretch, and were only outscored by the Pacers 50-48 in a second half that could have been far worse.
NBA analysis Raja Bell, who won a ring in 2016 with the Cavaliers as a member of the front office, joined CBS Sports HQ to talk about the fallout of this win and was asked what it means for the Cavs going forward in this postseason (watch full video here):
Yeah, I think ultimately, while from the beginning I thought the Cavs would find a way to win it was in jeopardy [sic] clearly if they fell in a 1-3 hole last night. I think the Cavs figure out a way to win this series, don't know that they're viable as a candidate to come out of the East anymore though. LeBron just does not get enough help from teammates consistently. He's starting to show that he may not be superhuman after all. Look, it's 15 years in the league, I think that's understandable. He needs a supporting cast and he doesn't have enough of one right now.
James just played all 82 regular season games for the first time in his career at 33 years old, and it's been a grind this postseason. His help, especially during the playoffs, has been sporadic at best, with Kyle Korver hitting two key three-pointers down the stretch Sunday to help lift the Cavaliers over the Pacers. Whether or not this style is sustainable remains to be seen, but for the Cavaliers, coming out of the East looks like a tough ask, let alone winning the NBA Finals against whichever Western Conference powerhouse is looming.
