Five stats you need to know about LeBron James' incredible playoff run

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LeBron James is painting another masterpiece.

The 14-time All-Star carried the Cavaliers past the Pacers in the first round of the 2018 NBA playoffs, doing so in historic fashion with 45 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in Game 7. LeBron then carried that momentum into the second round, helping the Cavaliers upset the No. 1 seeded Raptors in four games. He finished the series averaging 34.0 points, 11.3 assists and 8.3 rebounds per game on 55.3 percent shooting from the field, numbers Toronto’s All-Star backcourt of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry weren't able to match together.

With James now staring down an opportunity to make the NBA Finals for an eighth consecutive season, here are five stats you need to know about how impressive he’s been in the opening two rounds of these playoffs.

34.3: LeBron’s points per game

Not only are his 34.3 points per game more than anyone else in these playoffs, it’s on pace to be the most James has averaged since he was 24 years old. He already has four 40-plus point games as well, which is the most he’s had in the postseason since he was — you guessed it — 24.

Making it even more impressive is his true shooting percentage (a statistic that takes into account 2-point field goals, 3-point field goals and free throws) stands at 62.5 percent after two rounds. It’s the third-highest mark of LeBron’s postseason career, trailing his playoff run with the Cavaliers last season (64.9 percent) and his final playoff run with the Heat in 2013-14 (66.8 percent).

The difference is James is now attempting 23.0 shots per game compared to 21.3 last season and 17.0 in his last postseason with the Heat. That volume combined with that efficiency puts him in rare company.

28: LeBron’s assisted field goals

James is creating most of those points himself, too. According to NBA.com, 112 of the 140 shots he made against the Pacers and Raptors were unassisted. That means he created 80 percent of his own baskets in those series, a rate only James Harden (83.1 percent), Chris Paul (87.5 percent) and John Wall (90.0 percent) can compete with in these playoffs.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise considering Kyrie Irving assisted LeBron more than anyone else on the Cavaliers in last season’s playoffs. Without him on the roster, James has upped his usage in isolation, in the post and as the ball handler in pick-and-rolls. It gives him the versatility he needs to score against every team in the league, because he can blow by bigger defenders in isolation, bully smaller defenders in the post and use pick-and-rolls as a way to create mismatches when he isn’t putting help defenders in a spin cycle.

45.6: LeBron’s assist percentage

To go along with his 34.3 points per game, James trails only Rajon Rondo, John Wall and Draymond Green in the playoffs with 9.0 assists per game. It accounts for almost half of his teammates’ field goals when he’s on the court, the highest rate of his postseason career. His previous career high was set in 2014-15, when he assisted on 44.2 percent of his teammates’ field goals.

James hasn’t been turning the ball over frequently, either. With 3.1 turnovers per game, he’s on pace to set another personal postseason best with 2.9 assists per turnover.

The only player who is currently scoring and facilitating at a similar level as LeBron is James Harden. Harden, however, has a higher usage rating than LeBron to go along with a lower true shooting percentage, assist rate and assist-to-turnover ratio.

77: How many points LeBron was personally responsible for in Game 2 against the Raptors

As far as individual performances in these playoffs go, Game 2 of Cleveland’s second-round series against the Raptors might have been James' most dominant. With 43 points and 14 assists, LeBron accounted for 77 of his team’s 128 points, all while shooting 67.9 percent from the field and committing only one turnover.

According to ESPN, it’s the most James has been responsible for in a single game in his postseason career. He also set an NBA record in that game by making 17 of his 26 contested shot attempts, many coming in the second half when he scored 27 points on 13-for-19 shooting from the field in only 19 minutes of action.

36.2: Cleveland’s net rating in the clutch with LeBron on the court

Only Al Horford and Terry Rozier have played more clutch minutes than LeBron in these playoffs, and the Cavaliers have outscored opponents by a total of 31 points in those situations. It’s helped the Cavaliers win six of their seven games that have gone down to the wire, their only loss coming in Game 3 of their first-round series against the Pacers.

James made up for that loss in Game 5 of the same series when he hit a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Cavaliers a 3-2 lead. He then went on to hit a game-winner against the Raptors in the second round to put the Cavaliers up 3-0 in a series they went on to win in four games.

LeBron now has five buzzer-beaters in his postseason career, giving him two more than Michael Jordan.

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Scott Rafferty is a Senior NBA Editor for The Sporting News