National Basketball Association

Here's why this year's LeBron is an even scarier prospect for the rest of the NBA

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:59 p.m. ET

Andrew Lynch

If there's one conclusion to draw from the Cleveland Cavaliers' preseason opener against the Orlando Magic, it's that LeBron James is free — and that freedom should give the rest of the NBA even more reason to worry.

After achieving the impossible and bringing a title home to Cleveland, there's zero pressure on LeBron this season. Any and all expectations in 2016-17 reside on the West Coast, where Kevin Durant & Co. will have to live up to the hype as the NBA's latest and greatest superteam. The Warriors have work ahead of them this season. The only joy they'll find is in blowing out opponents like they're supposed to. That's why they crushed the Clippers earlier this week. Everything is personal for Golden State -- an opportunity to prove that they're not a bunch of losers who had to join forces to topple the King.

LeBron, though? He's a grown man playing a kid's game, as we saw on Wednesday. Every time down the floor, LeBron had a smile plastered across his face. He initiated the offense when he wanted, conceded to his teammates when he felt they needed a bit of run, and generally looked like a superstar who knows that the world belongs to him.

And when LeBron is playing loose and free, he's at his very best. That was the LeBron who led the Cavaliers back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals. With nothing to lose, LeBron gets out of his own way, taking over the game like only he can. Has he struggled from the free-throw line and beyond the arc as a Cavalier, as Skip Bayless pointed out on Undisputed Thursday morning? Absolutely! But those struggles don't happen in a vacuum.

For two years, LeBron has had the weight of the world on his shoulders, almost literally. Carrying such a massive burden in Cleveland wore down a star who's tallied an absurd number of minutes on the court by his early 30s. When he failed to knock down big 3s in 2015, that was the inevitable result of one man trying to beat a championship-caliber team on his own. Now, the burden is gone. While LeBron remains the crux of everything Cleveland does, he no longer needs to prove night-in and night-out that he can lead this team.

That sense of freedom will define the Cavs this year, but LeBron isn't the only one who will benefit. Remember, this is Tyronn Lue's first full season as head coach. Last year, he didn't have an opportunity to install his game plan in the preseason. Cleveland couldn't practice what Lue preached in 2015-16. There just wasn't time. This year, though, we're already starting to see some of the creative wrinkles Lue will bring to the Cavs offense. On multiple occasions against the Magic, Cleveland ran sets we haven't seen from LeBron's squad before. Kevin Love acted as the off-ball decoy we've always wanted him to be, flipping his momentum at the last second to set unexpected screens that freed up LeBron to fire crosscourt lasers to open shooters. Rookie point guard Kay Felder looked fantastic working in the pick-and-roll with LeBron, too. And when Orlando tried to key in on those sets, the Cavs ran counters, swinging the ball against a defense scrambling in the wrong direction.

The defending NBA champions were already in title-worthy form on Wednesday. Therein lies the rub.

Well, two rubs, actually. First, it is just the preseason. Anyone looking to belittle LeBron can easily point to the fact that the game didn't count last night (and that it came against the moribund Magic). While that's undoubtedly true, rewind to this time last year. The Cavs were already a tangled mess of drama and nerves, with rumors about then-coach David Blatt's job stability greeting Cleveland as it opened camp. A team sets the tone for its year in the preseason, and things are off to a ringing start for LeBron. That matters.

On the other hand, we probably shouldn't see LeBron again before the regular season tips off later this month. Beyond the addition of Chris Andersen, this team hasn't changed much from last year. Outside of a little more familiarity with the aforementioned new offensive sets, there's nothing to be gained by having LeBron play in the preseason. He's merely risking injury -- the one thing that would ruin Cleveland's newfound joy.

It was good to see LeBron showing off his swagger on Wednesday. Here's hoping that's all we see from him until the Cavs receive their rings and open the season on Oct. 25.