James unhappy camper
Doesn’t like how he feels down, 0-2
CLEVELAND — LeBron James laughed as he came around the backstage partition after arriving fashionably late for his crowded, post-practice news conference.
As he stepped onto the podium, back among friendly faces and in the building where he has done some of his finest work, James seemed at ease, almost content. No signs of stress anywhere. Moments later, his demeanor shifted.
A few reminders about his team’s urgent predicament against Golden State, questions about President Donald Trump and another review of Cleveland’s heartbreaking loss in Oakland. Calif., swung his emotions.
“I know it feels like we’re down, 2-0, and I don’t like the way I feel,” James said. “I don’t like the mood that I’m in right now. There’s no, like, ‘ OK, you’re down, 2-0, and you feel better than when you’re down, 2-0, before.’ When you’re down like this, in a deficit like this — versus a team like this — there’s no good feeling. So I don’t feel good about it.”
For the third time in the past four Finals, James and his teammates enter Game 3 against the Warriors in a win-or-make-summer-vacation-situation. After they wasted a 51-point effort by James — with a reversed official’s call, missed free throw by George Hill and bone-headed move from J.R. Smith — and let Game 1 slip away in overtime , and following Stephen Curry’s 3point barrage in Game 2 , the Cavaliers are faced with the reality that their season, strange as it has been to this point, is in serious jeopardy.
Coach Tyronn Lue, who plans to give disappointing forward Rodney Hood playing time Wednesday night, feels his team can change the complexion of this series.
“We’re very confident we can,” Lue said. “The guys are engaged and locked in. Winning tomorrow is a step forward, but then going out with Game 4, also.”
Teams that have taken a 2-0 lead are 29-4 in the Finals, but the Cavaliers have won eight consecutive playoff games at Quicken Loans Arena, which might be louder than ever with hometown fans still frothing from some calls that went against the Cavaliers last week.
Wednesday
Game: Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, Game 3 of NBA Finals, Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland. When: 9 p.m. TV: WTAE. Series: Warriors, 2-0.