LeBron wants Cavs feeling ‘uncomfortable’ in Game 3 despite home dominance

Going 8-1 at home during the 2018 playoffs could be fool’s gold, as in the spotless Larry O’Brien trophy gold.

At least that’s the way the Cavaliers’ four-time league Most Valuable Player LeBron James sees it.

Their opponent in the NBA Finals for the fourth consecutive season, the Golden State Warriors, has no “head of the snake,” one star that they can defensively focus on like the Indiana Pacers’ Victor Oladipo or the Toronto Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan. The Warriors are a more experienced, grittier and better-shooting version of the Boston Celtics, who took the Cavs to seven games in the conference finals.

“They have three guys who are toptiered best shooters probably in the history of the game, if not right now,” said Cavs guard George Hill. “So we have our hands full.”

And while the Cavs are concerned with Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, role players are roaming free like JaVale McGee and Shaun Livingston, who made all 11 of their field-goal attempts in the Warriors’ 122-103 victory in Game 2 Sunday at Oracle Arena.

That’s why James had a message for the Cavs as they flew home behind 2-0. The series shifts to Cleveland for Game 3 Wednesday and Game 4 Friday at Quicken Loans Arena.

“Just because we’re going home doesn’t mean we can relax,” James said of a Cleveland team that went 29-12 in the regular season. “This is the last team in the world you want to relax against... I will continue to stay uncomfortable, and I hope our guys continue to stay uncomfortable no matter with us going back home.”

Even though the Cavs rallied from 2-0 deficits against the Warriors in the 2016 Finals and against the Celtics in the last round, that can’t create a false sense of security.

In the regular season, the Warriors posted the same 29-12 record home and away; they are 4-4 on the road in the postseason.

“Home-court advantage can be a real thing. I mean, you look at how good the Warriors are here at Oracle, it’s the same for us at home,” said Love. “We feel like we feed off of our crowd. We really get up to play at home.

Shooting better has to be a goal of all the Cavs. Although they made more three-pointers on the road (12.7) than home (11.2) during the regular season and their team scoring average was only slightly better (111.5 to 110.3) at the Q, there is more of a disparity in the playoffs. At home the Cavs are scoring 105.8 points and shooting .477 from the field and 37 percent on threes. On the road (where they are 4-7), they have averaged 98.7 points, shot .442 from the field and .310 from long range.

Every possession counts against the Warriors, and so does that 7.1 home/ road point disparity.

Another “uncomfortable” aspect to the series is what the Warriors did to James defensively in Game 2. After James scored a career playoff-high 51 points with eight rebounds and eight assists in the Game 1 overtime loss, he totaled 29 points, nine rebounds and 13 assists in Game 2, as well as committing five of the Cavs’ 11 turnovers.

Playing 44 minutes, James didn’t agree that the Warriors made him work harder.

“I think I only got tired once tonight,” he said, likely referring to his five-point second quarter.

“They doubled me a few times when I caught the ball in the post, something they didn’t do in Game 1. So I got off the ball, trusted my teammates.”

For the Cavs, the challenge has intensified, along with the pressure.

“We’ve played some really good basketball on our home floor. But that shouldn’t give us any comfort,” James said. “We should still be uncomfortable with the series as we were in Game 1 and as we were [on Sunday night].”

(Akron Beacon Journal/TNS)