Why the Cleveland Cavaliers will win the NBA title

The Cleveland Cavaliers have problems. Kyrie Irving's game is on a precipitous decline. Kevin Love appears more out-of-place by the week. They have a near-max-contract big man in Tristian Thompson whose impact on the game is temperamental at best. Who the hell knows what you're going to get from the rest of the gang assembled in Cleveland.

At its core, this is a disjointed squad that hasn't developed much cohesion this season.

How on earth could are they going to beat one of two of the greatest teams of all time to win a title?

Well, they have one of the most dominant players in NBA history.

LeBron James is a one-man force unlike any other in the league, and he returned to Cleveland to win the city its first major title since 1964. James, at 31, is in the final years of his prime, and if he's going to win that title he promised, he can't delay.

The problem: this Cavaliers squad has a foundation of discord and James is both the disease and the cure.

James' aura is so powerful it can align a team behind him or increase the friction without much effort. From the outside, it's often difficult to tell the difference between LeBron's benevolence and malignancy —€” did that subtweet unite or further divide? Perhaps LeBron is equally perplexed.

Ultimately, that's why the Cavaliers are the ultimate enigma —€” their superstar has taken on an air of desperation. We have no idea what's in store for the Cavs these playoffs, but we can ironically feel comfortable with their prospects. The baseline is simple: the Eastern Conference is mercurial and the Western Conference champion might enter the Finals worse-for-wear after going through the gauntlet. But more important than that: when LeBron James wants to take over a game, the game is taken over.

There are other players in the NBA who can control a contest, but there's no one who can combine brute strength and grace like James. Stephen Curry might take over for spurts, but LeBron can control a contest for 48 minutes, if he so chooses. And in the NBA playoffs, control is everything.

LeBron can do it by himself if he wants, but there are problems that need to be worked out to clear the way for that, and the solutions are hardly simple.

The biggest issue is Irving —€” the former No. 1 overall pick has turned into a turnover savant in recent weeks, as his turnover ratio has gone from 7.8 in February to 10 in March and then 11.7 in five April games.

The numbers bear that James and Irving don't work well together. Irving averaged less than assist to James per game this season (43 total) —€” not exactly the chemistry you're looking for between your All-Star point guard and main scorer. Irving's increase disposition to distributing the ball has only increased that problem.

Furthermore, opponents are shooting 47.7 percent over the last two months when LeBron and Irving are on the floor together, making the two one of the Cavs' worst defensive tandems.

That problem is exasperated when Kevin Love is on the floor with the pair —€” the Big Three has a net rating of 7, making it the 20th ranked three-man unit of the 30 on the Cavs that qualified [(more than 250 minutes together.) The worst six include Tim Mozgov, so don't expect him to play much in the playoffs.]

The Cavs need to split up Irving —€” the shoot-first guard —€” and James, the offensive dynamo who is better with the ball in his hands.

The Cavs are going to rotate Love and Channing Frye at power forward, with Love likely playing some center when Thompson is off the court. Finding balance in that rotation early in the playoffs is critical, but that's the Cavs most viable move in the front court.

And while it's disappointing that the Cavs' All-Star power forward isn't going to be a whole-game contributor, the Cavs should follow suit by rotating LeBron and Irving at point guard in the playoffs.

The Cavs' best chance to win the playoffs is simple —€” surround LeBron with spot-up shooters and run a dribble-drive offense with James at point guard.

There have been hints that this is what the Cavs are planning on doing —€” James increased his shots from inside of five feet by 13 percent in the final two months of the season.

That's critical —€” LeBron's mid-range game is failing him. Forty-five percent of LeBron's shots this season were jump shots, and he only shot 33 percent from the field on those jumpers.

That's Kobe-esque.

It's a stark contrast to when LeBron goes to the hoop, where he is lethal —€” James took 200 shots from within five feet over the last two months and made 70 percent of those attempts.

It takes two, even three defenders to stop him (not even Kawhi Leonard or Andre Iguodala can slow James down singlehandedly) in the lane, and LeBron is one of the most gifted passers in the history of the game. If the Cavs have three —€” or better yet —€” four shooters around him with an open look, the Cavs' offense is going to be nearly unstoppable.

It's the Cavs' direct lane to a title. Adjustments will be made defensively, sure, but there's no adjustment you can make to shut down the most physically gifted basketball player in the history of the game with a look in his eye.

That said, it lacks creativity. It's not sexy in the least bit. LeBron, balancing his health with a bit of superficiality, has rejected this path for years.

But it's a power move that no team can stop and it's the only way this Cavaliers team wins a title.

How bad does the King want to fulfill his promise?