Biggest lessons from the first weekend of the NBA playoffs - ESPN

In March 2000, LeBron James played what was to that point the biggest game of his life: the state championship game at Ohio State.

The lanky freshman made 10 of 12 shots, had nine rebounds and scored 25 points, more than hinting that he might be headed for some big things. However, the defining player of the game was a fellow freshman named Dru Joyce, who made seven 3-pointers. His shooting display broke the opposition's zone defense, the first of many ideas in trying to stop James.

Luke Kennard was 3 years old then. Fifteen years later, he broke James' Ohio high school career scoring mark. Kennard nailing five 3-pointers and scoring 27 points in the Lakers' Game 1 victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday was a reminder that 26 years later, the story hasn't changed much.

Over the decades, the faces have changed, but the devastating strategy still can work wonders. When the stakes are high, give James the ball, spread the floor and win with James directing the offense and sharpshooters cutting around him.

It's a playoff lesson that has spanned nearly two decades of James' illustrious career.

The list of players who changed playoff games with barrages of 3-pointers playing off James is lengthy: Damon Jones, Daniel Gibson, Wally Szczerbiak, Shane Battier, Mike Miller, Matthew Dellavedova, JR Smith, Kyle Korver, Danny Green, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Look at the box scores and highlights — even that 2000 game is on YouTube. Most of these shots were generated by James' assists, or his hockey assists, or screens or the mere attention of drawing multiple defenders.

It's similar to what happened in Game 1 on Saturday, when James once again became the ultimate facilitator, handing out eight of his 13 assists in the first