OAKLAND, Calif. — LeBron James is so good, he makes everyone around him better and worse at the same time. This isn’t a knock on James, only an acknowledgement that his talent, intelligence, physical gifts and overall brilliance are uplifting but also overshadow so much that little else can be recognized. James is back where he’s supposed to be, in the NBA Finals, but he is with a team that few consider worthy of this stage — or on par with the Golden State Warriors.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are here for the fourth straight year because James refused to let Kyrie Irving’s forced trade to Boston, Kevin Love’s occasional injury misfortune, roster upheaval at the trade deadline and little to no time to develop any semblance of chemistry serve as excuses. James has made producing mind-numbing statistics routine, expected and easily taken for granted. He has an internal generator that allows him to fight off mental and physical fatigue. And he has displayed so much shape-shifting and hole-plugging ability that his teammates have only needed to provide just enough help for him to steer the Cavaliers where only James could take them.

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Though he has been the lone constant throughout this strained season and has lacked a consistent All-Star sidekick, James hasn’t done it alone. James couldn’t hold the Boston Celtics to just 79 points in Game 7 by himself. Someone — Oh, is that coach Tyronn Lue over there? — had to devise a scheme. He certainly spooked out Toronto in the second round, but Love and Kyle Korver had to make those open looks while the Raptors stood around in frozen panic. And while James was bloodied by the Indiana Pacers, the series wasn’t won until Lue trusted that Tristan Thompson could give the team something, anything, in Game 7. George Hill, J.R. Smith and Jeff Green have also had their moments, but not enough to change the perception that this is the worst — or second-worst — team that James has dragged out of the Eastern Conference.

“Throughout the whole course of the playoffs, we had guys step up,” Lue said, “so I don’t really read into that.”

Aside from Love, who made his fifth All-Star appearance this season, the other non-LeBron contributors don’t have the kind of consistent, high-level success that sells in a star-driven league. And even if they did, the presence of James would diminish their accomplishments. This phenomenon isn’t new. Even after forming that initial super-team in Miami in 2010 with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, it wasn’t long before the separation in talent and skill began to emerge. Wade and Bosh eventually had to find roles to complement and acquiesce James for that experiment to work. James bailed on the Heat after four years when he realized he’d need younger, better support elsewhere to continue his pursuit of not two, not three …

LeBron James’ greatness also comes with a downside. (AP) More

As the greatest player of this generation and a rare talent capable of entering any greatest-of-all-time debate, James is a dynamic force who was actually undersold by his considerable hype before entering the league. It’s not enough to call him the best player on his team because he’s also the best at virtually every measurable skill — scoring, assisting, rebounding, you name it. He’s always surrounded by shooters because others on his team can do it better or almost as well, but James is whom the Cavaliers want shooting with the game on the line. His ability to make shots and plays for others makes it easier to defer to him, and James never carries himself as if he is being asked to shoulder too much. James is always asked to do all of the above. And more.

Since James returned to Cleveland, the outside perception has always been that the four-time MVP is also running things as general manager and coach. Though James has scoffed at that assessment and always acknowledges the moves former Cavs general manager David Griffin made to put the team in contention every season, owner Dan Gilbert decided last summer that Griffin was expendable. Lue overcame a late-season health scare to make his third straight Finals appearance but rarely gets mentioned as one of the league’s promising young coaches, despite being younger than his opponent in the previous round, Brad Stevens.

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