The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
LBJ in familiar territory in finals
This is superstar’s seventh straight appearance, eighth overall
LeBron James knows the NBA Finals.
He’s heading there for the eighth time in a Hall of Fame career spanning 14 seasons.
In two stints with the Cavaliers, he’s been to three Finals and is about to make it four as the Cavs and Golden State Warriors square off in the Finals
for the third straight season.
Game 1 is set for June 1 at Oracle Arena in Oakland. Tipoff is 9 p.m.
The Warriors got the better of the injury-depleted Cavs in the 2015 Finals, prevailing in six games. In the 2016 Finals, James and the Cavs made history by becoming the first team to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win the best-of-seven series.
In his four-year sojourn in Miami, James got there four times and won two NBA titles.
After the Cavs practiced at Cleveland Clinic Courts on May 28, James was asked if he believed the 2017 NBA Finals can live up to its billing as one of the most eagerly anticipated in many years.
The Warriors are 12-0 in this postseason. James and the Cavs are 12-1.
“First of all, I don’t get involved in the hype,” James said. “But I do know both teams are better than last year’s teams. We’re a better Cavaliers team. They’re a better Warriors team.
“What does that mean? We don’t know yet,” James added. “We’ve both added pieces that helped our offensive and defensive packages to be even more scary. We’re both playing at a high level.
A keen student of the
game and its history, James said he understands why so much attention will be paid to this third Finals showdown between the startstudded rosters of the Cavs and Warriors.
“When you look back on this, you’ll see two great teams that competed for championships. We did whatever it took to get to that point,” James said. “I don’t know what the outcome (of this series) will be. Obviously, you’ll want to write about it and talk about it throughout the series. I’m honored and happy to be part of the Finals again.
“I don’t know anything else at this point,” he added, smiling and stifling a cough that indicated he’s still battling a spring cold.
James also understands there will be considerable focus in the upcoming series on the individual match-up between him and Golden State power forward
Kevin Durant.
Durant left Oklahoma City last year as a free agent and signed with Golden State.
The 10-year veteran and one-time NBA Most Valuable Player has been a model of consistency for his new team, averaging 25.1 points during the regular season and 25.2 points in the playoffs.
“You adapt to the culture. You adapt to the style,” James said of Durant’s absorption into a team that already had two-time MVP Stephen Curry and perennial all-stars Klay Thompson and Draymond Green in the starting lineup.
“The same thing happened to me when I went to Miami,” James added. “I started to slash more, move without the ball, shoot more standstill 3’s and figure out ways to be more productive than just having the ball in isolation.
Durant is an even more
potent threat with the Warriors than he was on at Oklahoma City with Russell Westbrook and James Harden before the latter moved to Houston as a free agent.
“KD is one of the most dangerous guys we have in the world already,” James said.
“It makes him even more dangerous when you equip him with that talent, that skill and put him with those guys.”
James, a four-time MVP, is averaging 32.5 points in the playoffs after averaging 26.4 points during the regular season.
Notwithstanding the Las Vegas oddsmakers installing Durant and the Warriors as strong favorites in the 2017 Finals, James said he feels “very good” about his team’s chances to defend their NBA title
“I’ve only played blackjack in Vegas, so it doesn’t matter to me,” he said.