In the hazy aftermath of LeBron James’s floating, falling game-winning bank shot kissed off the backboard on Saturday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers seemed confused as to the name of the final play. Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said it’s called ‘3 Open’. Others on the team thought the title is ‘Open 4’.

Whatever the play’s name, the meaning is not ambiguous.

NBA (@NBA) LeBron James goes glass and drills the Tissot Buzzer-Beater to lift the @cavs to victory in Game 3! #ThisIsYourTime#WhateverItTakes #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/VWpEN8Rm26

“Give it to LeBron and get out of the way,” one Cleveland assistant coach told the Athletic.

Tactical nomenclature is probably irrelevant to the Cavaliers right now. Everything they run this postseason appears to be some variation of Give It To LeBron And Get Out Of The Way. Halfway to the NBA finals, we are watching one of the greatest playoff runs of any player ever. They way he saved Cleveland from disaster against Indiana in the first round and has dominated three straight games against the Eastern Conference regular-season champions, the Toronto Raptors, has been astounding.

Was there any doubt he would win the game on Saturday as he thundered up the court with 8.8 seconds left in a game tied at 103-103? The last shot, as ridiculous as it seemed on release, was all but certain to go in. This is the way things have been for him these last magical weeks. Saturday Night Live even sent up Cleveland’s dumbfounding over-reliance on their star player in an unaired sketch from over the weekend.

But where does it get LeBron and where does it get the Cavs? The 34.8 points a game he is averaging this postseason is the 16th best in NBA history – a stunning statistic, yes, until you realize that only one of those 15 playoff performances above his actually led to a title. That was Michael Jordan in 1993, Jordan’s last season before his first retirement. Each of those other great postseasons, like Jordan’s 43.6 points-per-game in 1986 and Jerry West’s 40.6 in 1965, ended with their team losing.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘Whatever LeBron needs, we’ll get it done! As long as what he needs isn’t basketball.’

LeBron might be carrying the Cavs, but he can’t tote them to another championship. Even if Cleveland finishes a sweep of Toronto in Monday’s Game 4 and goes on to beat Boston in the conference finals, there seems little chance he can defeat Golden State or Houston by himself. Like the other men on that list above him – one which includes Jordan four more times, Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain twice and Russell Westbrook last year – he is destined to fall short of another ring.

Maybe he understands this as time ticks down on what is expected to be the end of his second run with the Cavaliers. As intense as he appears on the court, he seems as serene as ever off of it. After Saturday’s game, he sat behind a table in a press conference, laughing at questions, joking almost as if downing beers in a backyard barbecue, he talked about his acceptance of this Cavs team’s limitations and the need to take over.

“I think before the all-star break, when (I decided) we’ve got to make the most of this team,” he said. “I’ve been in a really good place ever since.”

James’s debt to Cleveland was paid in the summer of 2016 when he brought the city their first sports title in five decades. His burden to be anything more than the kid from nearby Akron who grew to be the greatest player of his time was relieved. He is free to leave town when his contract is up next month and chase championships in Philadelphia or San Antonio or even greater celebrity in New York or Los Angeles. He is giving Cleveland one final gift: the best basketball of his life in the last days before he walks away. At least he can go knowing he gave his best shot with a flawed team for his hometown.

Late last spring, I sat with another player ahead of LeBron on that list of all-time great postseasons: number six, Bob McAdoo, whose 37.4 points a game for the Buffalo Braves only got them one series that year, a seven-game loss to Washington. Ironically, we were in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, watching a handful of draft prospects at an open showcase. We were talking about Kevin Durant, who had sacrificed points for a chance to win a championship with the Golden State Warriors and McAdoo said he understood Durant’s decision. Later in his career, he too gave up points for titles with the Lakers.

“I didn’t need to (score all the time) in LA and I was happy about that,” McAdoo told me that day. “All the load wasn’t on me, it was spread out. You just kind of matured in the course of your career.”

LeBron doesn’t have to mature as a player. He already has three titles. Unlike the players on the list of all-time great postseasons (which includes LeBron himself in 2009), he isn’t chasing something elusive. This playoff run of his feels less about trying to will a championship and more about being as great as he can for one last time in Cleveland.

The Cavs don’t have to design a play for that.

Just give LeBron the ball and let him do the rest.