After Wednesday night’s 100-97 victory, the Cleveland Cavaliers have drawn even with the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs at one game apiece. Now, with the series shifting to Indianapolis, some experts and analysts are questioning whether or not the new-look Cavs have what it takes to advance. LeBron James, however, is remaining confident on the road — a setting he usually thrives in.
“I just like the adversity of the road,” James told Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com after Friday morning’s practice session in Indy. “Home cooking is great, love the home fans for 14 years. But I love playing out on the road more than I love playing at home. It’s just a weird thing.”
Just for the record, James’ stats in the postseason are outstanding. He’s the all-time leading scorer in the playoffs with 6,233 points. His 1,506 assists in the playoffs rank third all-time, just behind Magic Johnson (2,346) and John Stockton (1,839). On the defensive end of the floor, James needs just four more steals to pass Scottie Pippen (395) for the No. 1 spot in playoffs history.
Following Friday morning’s practice session in Indy, James was asked whether or not there should be any extra motivation for playing on the road in the playoffs.
“For me, it doesn’t matter,” James told Vardon. “A playoff game, there shouldn’t be no extra motivation going on the road or being at home, it’s a postseason game and you want to try to win every game that’s possible and try to play well.
“I’m confident that all my guys are gonna go out and play the game the right way and we’ll see what happens,” James said in closing.
James logged 40 minutes in Wednesday night’s victory, scoring a whopping 46 points on 17-24 shooting from the field (2-5 from beyond the arc), 12 rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Friday night’s Game 3 matchup is set to tip inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse at 7:00 p.m. EST with ESPN, FOX Sports Ohio and FOX Sports Indiana having live broadcast coverage.