With his team facing an 0-1 deficit to the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, LeBron James has had some time to reflect on the turbulent nature of the Cavs’ 2017-18 season. Following Wednesday morning’s practice session at Cleveland Clinic Courts, James expanded on those thoughts.
“I think we spent so much time trying to figure out who we were in the regular season and getting the right lineups and guys in and out and things of that nature, we could never build for the playoffs,” James told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. It was kind of like, build for the next game. So the postseason finally hit us and it hit us very well. And I think that can be the best teacher for us to know exactly what we should be ready for tonight.”
To be fair, James makes several good points. The Cavs have dealt with several issues this season, including injuries, a roster overhaul before the trade deadline and health concerns for head coach Tyronn Lue. Despite all of their adversities, Cleveland still managed to post a 50-32 overall record, which earned the team a No. 4 seed in the playoffs.
James logged a whopping 44 minutes in Sunday’s Game 1 loss to the Pacers, though he did rack up a triple-double (24 points on 7-17 shooting, 12 assists, 10 rebounds and one steal). However, the King recorded just two points in the opening quarter. Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue has since asked James to be more aggressive in the opening phases of Game 2.
The Cavs and Pacers will square off inside Quicken Loans Arena for Game 2 on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. EST. TNT, FOX Sports Ohio and FOX Sports Indiana will have live broadcast coverage.
