As the Sixers have been calling for more leadership, examples of it don’t necessarily have to come from within the team. Facing LeBron James on Sunday gave them a firsthand look into how a star player remains cool under pressure, takes over a game and does it with a combination of basketball IQ and skill.
“He is so gifted all over the place, but I think he’s a really smart player,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said.
The Sixers stayed within two points of the Cavs with 8:22 remaining. Enter James, who went into takeover mode. James scored 12 of his team’s final 14 points, including eight straight, to clinch the 95-85 win at the Wells Fargo Center (see Instant Replay).
The fact he finished with 37 points is impressive. How he helped win the game, though, stood out more to the Sixers.
“He knows when to kind of turn it on. He knows the flow of the game,” Ish Smith said. “He’s so intelligent when it comes to the game, time to score, when to turn it up, when to slow the game down, when to play with great pace.”
Two players in particular Brown wants to see more leadership from are Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor. With only two veterans on the Sixers, being on the court with James offered them a vantage point.
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“How composed he is throughout the whole game and how willingly he’s able to run his team," Noel said. "He holds everybody accountable so definitely [you can learn] from a leadership role."
James has logged over 7,500 postseason minutes and won consecutive championships with the Heat. He has been the go-to for as long as he’s been in an NBA uniform. James views maintaining poise and composure as a must-do whether it is the playoffs or middle of the regular season. With his team struggling to pull away Sunday, he put them on his back and drove home the victory (see highlights).
“I’ve played in a lot of big games in my career and I’ve seen it all,” James said. “I’ve always just tried to stay even-keeled. … They look at me as the leader of this team and I’ve got to be that way all year round.”
James made an impression on the Sixers with his on-the-court communication. Smith recalled him pointing out the positioning of players in a jump ball. Brown heard him questioning how Carl Landry drew a foul. From talking to teammates to debating with refs, he has a wide-ranging view of the intricacies happening in the game.
The Sixers wrapped their meetings with the Cavs, but can take what they learned from the game for the rest of the season.
“If you’re courtside like I am and you hear comments from him like I do, you’re blown away at the sophistication and intellect of his conversations with others,” Brown said. “It’s at an incredibly high level.”