LeBron James Talks Finals At The Barber
Earlier this week, the Cleveland Cavaliers were defeated by the Golden State Warriors in the 2015 NBA Finals (4-2). I’ve heard the arguments all week about how the health of Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving flipped this from a Cleveland sweep to a Warriors victory. That’s some specious thinking, to my mind, to say that their availability (don’t forget Anderson Varejao) would have flopped things so decisively. Having never played in the NBA Finals, we have no idea how they would have responded to the stage. And sure, LeBron James’ game would have changed based on their availability.
James would have been fresher and able to be spelled a bit longer each game. Remember, he told you that repeatedly during the course of the series. Maybe his shooting percentage would have been better (he missed 20 shots per game). That still doesn’t automatically translate to victories.
We saw some early shooting struggles and flow issues with defending league MVP Stephen Curry. Matthew Dellavedova became a household name and national icon for about three days. The big stage tries to swallow first-timers.
I argued vociferously on FOX Sports Radio this week that James was not the MVP of the series. Did he put up ridiculous numbers? Yes. I don’t discount the, at times, superhuman effort that James put forth and those gaudy stats. But the Cavaliers lost. You can check the podcasts for the full discussions on this and other NBA Finals topics.
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LeBron James made his first post-series comments for Bleacher Report’s “Uninterrupted” series.
… At the barber shop.
His barber talked about LeBron’s haircuts earlier this week, citing that they routinely take an hour to complete. I argue that he’s milking it to get extra quality time with LeBron, but that’s just me.
LeBron spoke candidly in this quick-hit video about his first year home, his teammates and his connection with the fans, and the city, of Cleveland
“It hurt. It hurt to lose. I’m still in a funk right now.”
He lauded the effort of his teammates and thanked the fans for their support.
Check out the video. LeBron talked about the NBA Finals
“I hope I made you guys proud in year one.”
