On paper, James, Love and point guard Kyrie Irving look to be an unstoppable trio on offense, but there are some real questions to answer as to how Cleveland will actually look on the floor. The first thing to remember is that the team will likely be a work in progress. After James teamed up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami, the pieces didn’t really fit together until well into the trio’s second season together. The issue will be compounded in Cleveland by the presence of a first-year coach in David Blatt, who has never worked in the NBA.

The Cavs might have similar issues as did those Heat teams, because James, Love and Irving are all very much used to having the ball in their hands. They ranked 5th, 9th and 13th in respectively in usage rates last season, numbers that are unlikely to be repeated given they will be sharing the floor, and there is only one ball.

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These players didn’t just shoot a lot. Examining “True Usage” (a metric of my own creation that includes playmaking as well as shot taking in measuring a player’s overall contribution), James was the most prolific non-point guard in the league, shooting or creating shots for teammates on almost 49 percentage of offensive possessions he was on the floor. Love carried a similarly outsize load, being involved with 41.25 percentage of Minnesota’s shots when he was on the floor (second by a small margin to DeMarcus Cousins among NBA big men). Irving’s 48.4 True Usage percentage was well above average for the league’s point guards, even if not as much as an outlier as James’s or Love’s in terms of their positional counterparts.

A comparison of the shooting and passing loads carried by the Cavs’ season-ending rotation in 2013-14 and their projected rotation going into next season is illustrative:

With Jack, Hawes and Deng having departed, there was something of a gap to be filled, but the newcomers, especially James and Love, more than make up for the losses.

One benefit is that unlike in Miami, where Wade had a credible (if likely mistaken) belief that it was “his team,” James rather clearly has sufficient status to demand primacy over Irving. At the same time, part of the allure the Cavs held for LeBron might have been the presence of an exceptional offensive lead guard.

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James certainly seems cognizant that carrying such a huge offensive burden, as he did last season, is probably harmful to his chances of being fresh for the playoffs. His visible weight loss this offseason is one indicator of his desire for increased longevity. And it’s not hard to see him ceding some control over the offense to a star like Irving.

Though he’s always been known as a ball-dominant player, James has developed into one of the more efficient catch-and-shoot players in the league. Additionally, per Synergy Sports, James was one of the most effective cutters (his 1.44 points per play ranking 16th) and pick-and-roll screeners (1.23, ranking ninth) in the entire league. James might well be willing to play off the ball more more than he’s ever done.

On the other hand, Irving seems likely to take on more of a role as a facilitator. Almost 53 percentage of his shot attempts came either in isolations or as the pick-and-roll ballhandler, some of the lower efficiency shots in the game. Even though Irving was above average in his efficiency on those shots, these still represented less-than-ideal possessions, with many forced mid-range jump shots:

Some of this was because of poor selection on Irving’s part, some was the Cavs’ lack of finishers in the pick-and-roll (Cleveland was 26th in the NBA in scoring efficiency from the screener in pick-and-roll), and some was a poorly designed and coached offense.

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The first issue is likely to improve simply by the presence of James, who likely has sufficient gravitas to enforce better shot-selection habits. Plus, Blatt has been noted as a innovative offensive mind throughout his travels in various European leagues.

As far as the pick-and-roll finishers, that is where Love comes into play. Skilled in terms of both rolling to the basket and finishing or as a pick-and-pop player, Love will provide the passing options Irving never really has had. In fact, offensively, he’s a very similar style of player to Hawes. Comparing Hawes’s shot locations while in Cleveland to Love’s in Minnesota:

The biggest differences was that Love simply shot much more often than Hawes, while also drawing fouls at almost three times the rate with his superior ability to finish and draw contact near the rim.

As far as his passing (which is excellent for a big man), Love will probably be less involved in that sort of playmaking simply because he will be finishing more plays with open shots after James and Irving have drawn defenders.

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Aside from Dion Waiters, the rest of the Cavs will probably be used primarily as spot-up floor spacers (Mike Miller) or garbage men around the rim and off cuts (Varejao, Thompson, Marion).

The sum total of these changes is to expect all three main stars to shoot slightly less, with the most pronounced drop being from Irving. James and Love are likely to see their assists drop off some. Love and Irving especially can expect to increase their efficiency as the talent arrayed around them will result in many more easy looks for both.