Paul George

Watch a frustrated LeBron James give up on this Paul George dunk

Published Feb. 29, 2016 9:15 p.m. ET

Andrew Lynch

Look, we get it. Sometimes, things just aren't going your way, and you have to move on to the next possession. But all we're saying is that when LeBron James simply stops trying in the middle of a play, it doesn't look very good — especially with the Cavs in the middle of an identity crisis.

In the third quarter of a tied game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers on Monday night, Pacers forward Paul George came up with a steal and took off in transition for an easy dunk. And LeBron simply watched George stroll to the rim:

For any other player, that's an okay decision. It's not great, but you're probably not getting there in time. This is LeBron James, though. He's the king of the chase-down block. We're used to this kind of thing from LeBron instead:

That was literally just a month ago, if you can believe it.

What we're not used to is James acting like your average NBA player. Paul George is an All-Star, one who streaking in for an easy bucket against your team. And that's not enough to rouse LeBron for an attempt on the ball?

Maybe James wouldn't have been able to affect George's shot. Maybe he was better off saving his energy. After all, the Cavs pulled out a close win over the Pacers as James tallied 33 points (and, you know, zero blocks).

Then again, with LeBron's recent run of less-than-stellar efforts, we can't say we're necessarily surprised by the outcome of this particular play.