CLEVELAND -- It has been hard to fathom how LeBron James can be playing more games than ever, more minutes than ever, and yet in some ways be more dominant than ever.

The answer might be simple: James has perfected the art of resting while playing.

It's a concept high-energy athletes such as boxers and swimmers have used for years: looking for moments in competition in which they can ease their load and allow for little scraps of rest they hope will add up. For James, this means finding times within games when he can catch his breath even when play is going on.

He has been slowly learning how to do it for years.

"It's just about growing, maturing and understanding that you play smarter," James said. "It's not like you're out there and you say, 'OK, I'm not going to get back on defense here. Not going to do this here.' It's just about picking your spots."

LeBron James played more than 3,000 regular-season minutes for the first time in seven years, and he is averaging 41.7 minutes through the first 10 games of the postseason. Trevor Ruszkowski/USA TODAY Sports

Here's the data that illustrates it. No one would ever call James slow, but he is when he wants to be. During the regular season, James' average speed during games was 3.85 mph, according to Second Spectrum tracking data.

Of all players who averaged at least 20 minutes a game, that ranked in the bottom 10 in speed. That's correct: James moved slower than just about any rotation player in the league. And since the playoffs started, James has gotten even slower. His average has slipped to 3.69 mph.

Here's why: James walks a lot. During the regular season, about 74.4 percent of James' time on the court was spent walking. Again, this was in the top 10 in the league. Almost no one walked up and down the floor more than James. And in the playoffs, he's walking even more -- 78.7 percent of the time.

It's a data-backed way of saying James calculates when he can take plays off. Or more appropriately, when he needs to take them off.

It manifests itself in many ways. For example, during free throws, James will often walk to the other end of the floor. It saves him having to run when possession changes. He also at times will take himself out of an offensive play and stand on the wing, knowing he needs a breather.

"It helps having teammates out there who can take a few possessions for you offensively," James said. "And you can kind of understand you can use all the energy on the defensive end for a few possessions."