Road wins pivotal to James’ success
Before he brought Cleveland an NBA title, before he won three Finals MVP awards, before he teamed with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade in Miami, LeBron James was a 24-year-old struggling to lift the Cavaliers to his sport’s summit.
In 2009, two years after his first Finals appearance, James’ Cleveland team fell to Orlando in the Eastern Conference finals in six games. That series is relevant these days because it stands as the last playoff series in which his club didn’t win at least one road game — a stretch that spans 30 series.
Now, after two days reviewing the Cavaliers’ Game 1 loss to Golden State in the NBA Finals, James hopes to extend that streak to 31 with a Game 2 win Sunday. Though Cleveland stormed back from 2-0 and 3-1 deficits last year to defeat the Warriors for the championship, it recognizes how much it needed to break its way — an injury to Andrew Bogut, a Game 5 suspension of Draymond Green, an underwhelming series from Stephen Curry — for that to unfold.
“I understand the road is very challenging, especially when you get to this level, you get to the Finals, you get to the Eastern Conference finals,” James said of his streak of playoff series with a road win. “It’s very difficult to win on the road, and I’ve been fortunate to be able to do that in my career.”
Before Thursday, James was playing perhaps the best basketball of his career. In Game 1, while matched up for stretches against Golden State’s Kevin Durant, he was uncharacteristically human. Though James finished with a near triple-double (28 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists), he committed eight of Cleveland’s 20 turnovers.
But if anyone can orchestrate a road upset of the Warriors, it’s James. This is a player who has reached seven consecutive Finals and 13 straight All-Star games. In shepherding the Cavaliers to a 12-1 start to the playoffs, he only amplified the comparisons of him to Michael Jordan.
“It just speaks volumes to who he is as a player,” said Golden State acting head coach Mike Brown, James’ coach in Cleveland when the Cavaliers lost the 2009 Eastern Conference finals to the Magic. “He’s one of the greatest of all time. When you have his ability, when you have his intelligence and feel and all that other stuff, you’re able to lead your team in difficult situations and tough environments.” Kerr update: Golden State general manager Bob Myers reiterated Saturday that a Game 2 return for Steve Kerr is “on the table,” though no definitive timetable has been set.
Since Kerr stepped away from the sideline before Game 3 of the first round to deal with complications from back surgery two years ago, Brown has led Golden State to 11 consecutive wins. Regardless of whether Kerr is on the bench again this postseason, he’ll continue to be a presence. He has helped the Warriors throughout the playoffs with game planning, messaging and scouting and has spoken to the team before games and at halftime when he’s been at the arena. Draft workouts: The Warriors don’t have a pick in the NBA draft on June 22, but that hasn’t kept them from working out players. Among the prospects who worked out at Golden State’s practice facility Saturday were Nevada forward Cameron Oliver and Iowa guard Peter Jok, two likely second-rounders.