The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Lue: James will be great in Game 6
It hasn’t been just the playoffs that have been a grind on the center of the Cavaliers’ universe.
Since returning from the AllStar break on February 22, the Cavaliers, with few exceptions, played every other night until the regular season ended on April 11. LeBron James, 33, not only played them all; he led the NBA in minutes played in the regular season.
The toll 82 regular season games and 16 playoff games has taken on James was evident on May 23 when the Cavs were beaten by the Celtics, 96-83, in Game 5 in Boston. James scored 26 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out five assists, but he didn’t dominate the game as he normally does.
Down three games to two, with a must-win Game 6 set for 8:30 p.m. May 25 at Quicken Loans Arena, Tyronn Lue is confident James will be rejuvenated and ready to go.
“Fatigue won’t be a problem,” the Cavaliers’ coach said May 24 during a conference call. “I’m pretty sure a lot of guys are tired. If I could choose one guy to prevail, it would be LeBron. I know he’ll be great tomorrow, and then after that we’ll see.
“It (Game 5) could have been one of those nights for LeBron. But there’s no question in my mind he’ll bounce back tomorrow.”
The home team has won every game in the Eastern Conference finals. The Celtics are 10-0 at TD Garden in the 2018 postseason.
The Cavs were 3-1 at The Q against the Pacers in the first round, 2-0 against Toronto in the conference semifinals and 2-0 so far against the Celtics.
“We just can’t expect coming home and in front of our great fans and crowd that we’re going to win the game,” Lue said. “We’ve got to play well, and we understand that. I like what we’ve done the last three games defensively, even Game 5 in Boston yesterday. If we continue to play defense the way we’ve been playing, I do love our chances. I know we’ll shoot the ball better and play better offensively at home.”
The Celtics shot just 36.5 percent from the floor in Game 5, but they fired off 85 shots — 11 more than the Cavaliers did. They outrebounded the Cavaliers, 45-39, and were more careful with the ball. The Cavaliers made 15 turnovers compared to eight for the
Celtics.
It might be too simple to link James’ fatigue with his turnovers. But he turned the ball over six times in Game 5, seven times in Game 1 and six times in Game 2 — all losses. Many of the turnovers were sloppy, careless passes.
“I think out of those six (turnovers in Game 5), maybe three of them were just careless,” James told reporters after the game. “I think the other three were attack turnovers, and I’m okay with that.”
James turned the ball over only three times when the Cavaliers rolled the Celtics, 116-86, in Game 3. He turned it over seven times when the Cavs won Game 4, 111-102.
James handles the ball more than anyone, so he has more chance to make mistakes. But the Cavs’ chances of winning decrease when their best player averages six turnovers a game and
teammates don’t pitch in.
Starting guard J.R. Smith made only three of 22 shots in the three games in Boston for a total of six points. George Hill is 4-of-13 in Boston. He scored five of his seven points in Game 5 from the free throw line.
“A lot of our guys have a comfort level of being back home and playing off the fans and playing off our crowd, playing off that court, being more comfortable being back home for Game 6,” James said. “We look forward to having an opportunity to force a Game 7 (in Boston May 27). It’s up to us to see if we can come back here for one more.”
Hill totaled 26 points and Smith 20 in Games 3 and 4 at The Q.
James, by the way, denies he’s running on fumes.
“I’m fine,” he told the press corps. “And I didn’t mention the fatigue, either. One of you guys did. I’m fine.”