OAKLAND, Calif. — LeBron James casually swished a jumper from the corner, an otherwise ordinary shot with a higher degree of difficulty given the backpack hanging over his shoulders.
In the NBA Finals, James might have to carry something much heavier than a backpack.
He might have to put the Cleveland Cavaliers on his back.
“Well, I’m in a spot where I have to be very productive, and that’s just the spot I’ve always been in,” James said Saturday.
He’s certainly been in this very spot in the Finals, Game 5 of a tied series, the game that has historically foretold which team would win the title. So it’s all about the next game, with no reason to get hung up on what happened in the last one — no matter how bad things appeared.
“I think when you get to a championship-level type game with it being 2-2, I don’t think anyone has the momentum,” James said. “Obviously, everyone would say (the Warriors) because they’re coming back home, and then after the game they had the other night, but the momentum starts once the game starts.”
Golden State contained James and won big for the first time in Game 4. The Cavaliers don’t have an obvious lineup adjustment like the Warriors made, so Cleveland’s best chance — maybe only chance — could be for James to score Sunday the way he did in the series’ first three games.
James appeared rested and relaxed before practicing at the Warriors’ training center, surely helped by the extra day between games when the series moved to the West Coast. He scored 20 points on 7-of-22 shooting in Game 4 after averaging 41 points the first three.
Cavs coach David Blatt believes the break will benefit not only James but his whole team, which after a quick start Thursday was a step behind the rest of the night trying to keep up with the deeper, quicker Warriors in a 103-82 loss.
“We’ve had a couple of days here to recover. I believe that’s going to be helpful,” Blatt said. “This is a tough series for both teams, a lot of things happening. It’s now best of three to win the NBA championship, the world championship. So I like the situation we’re in. I like the challenge that’s in front of us, and I can’t wait to play (Sunday).”
Neither can the Warriors, who weren’t particularly impressive while splitting a pair of overtime thrillers in Games 1 and 2. But now that they have regained home-court advantage, they will win the NBA title as long as they don’t lose a second game in an arena where they lost only twice all season.
They did lose twice in the playoffs at home, against Memphis and Cleveland.
“I think if you look at the entire playoffs, the first two games at home have been a struggle,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. “Part of that is just trying to adapt to your opponent and get a feel for what they’re doing. “
He wouldn’t say if he would stick with the small lineup the Warriors unveiled in Game 4, with swingman Andre Iguodala starting in place of center Andrew Bogut. But given Golden State’s success in speeding up the tempo, there seems little reason to switch back.
Teams that won Game 5 when the Finals were tied have gone on to win 20 of 28 times, according to Stats Inc., though not the last time it happened. Miami fell behind San Antonio 3-2 in 2013, then James led the Heat to two victories and the title.
“We’re going to play our game,” James said. “We’ve gotten to this point by playing the way we play, and we’re not going to change.”
