It takes four losses to strike out from an NBA Playoffs series, and LeBron James showed that he’s fully aware of that when asked about how much the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 108- 83 loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals is affecting his confidence to win the series.
“I have zero level of concern at this stage. I didn’t go to college so its not March Madness. You get better throughout the series, see ways u can get better. I’ve been down 0-1, been down 0-2. There’s no level of concern.”
LeBron James was uncharacteristically out of his element on Sunday. The four-time MVP scored 15 points in 36 minutes, but he managed to bury just five of his 16 shot attempts for an ugly 31.3 field goal shooting percentage – his worst in a game thus far in these playoffs. In addition to that, James also shot his team in the foot repeatedly by committing seven of his team’s nine turnovers. As a team, the Cavs’ anemic offense could be defined by their ugly 36.0 percent shooting from the floor.
More or less, James has been in every type of playoffs situation before. It was not that long ago when the Cavs lost Game 1 of their first-round matchup with the Indiana Pacers before winning the series, four games to three. In other words, James knows better than to press the panic button after a loss in a series opener.
That being said, the Cavs can’t afford to lose another one to Boston in Game 2 this Tuesday in order to avoid adding confidence to the Celtics. Expect James and the Cavs to make adjustments for the next game, particularly on their defense after Boston made over 51 percent of their shots in Game 1.