CLEVELAND: Re-watching the Cavaliers’ 33-point loss to the Golden State Warriors in Game 2 of the NBA Finals might have been painful for LeBron James. But at least he had company.
James said Tuesday that he dressed quickly after Sunday’s rout at Oracle Arena so he could catch the Cavs’ first bus, a rarity for him. He sat next to James Jones, who is making his sixth consecutive Finals appearance with James, and they dissected James’ problems all the way from Oakland to the team hotel in San Francisco.
Playing 34 minutes, James scored 19 points on 7-of-17 shooting and added eight rebounds and nine assists, but found his game-high seven turnovers especially troubling.
“I saw some of them that were uncharacteristic, but some of them were being aggressive, and they just got their hands on a few of them,” James said after practice at Quicken Loans Arena. “A couple of them were bad footwork; I traveled, and a few of the third-quarter moves where I took an extra step and wasn’t as sound with my footwork. So that’s something I can clean up.
“I’m out there making plays for myself and making plays for my teammates as well. So you’re going to have some turnovers. Out of the seven, I would say four of them I can clean up and stop those guys from getting out on the break and doing what they do best, and that’s filling the lanes and sharing the ball. I’ll be much better and much more sound tomorrow night.”
The Cavs trail the Warriors 2-0 going into Game 3 Wednesday night at Quicken Loans Arena. In the two losses, the Cavs’ 35 turnovers have led to 51 Warriors points.
Varejao’s return
Anderson Varejao will play his first game in Quicken Loans Arena as a member of the Warriors in Game 3 and admitted he is concerned about what kind of reception he’ll receive.
Varejao spent 11½ seasons with the Cavs before being traded to the Portland Trail Blazers on Feb. 18. The Blazers waived him the same day and he signed with the Warriors on Feb. 22.
“I really don’t know what’s going to happen,” Varejao said. “I still have a lot of fans in Cleveland, I love this city, I love the fans here. But I will respect whatever they decide to do. I’ll be fine with it. I understand this is the Finals, I understand they want to win as much as I do, so it’s OK. It’s OK. Whatever.”
Varejao said he had dinner with the Warriors on Monday night, but slept at his home in Bay Village. That might have only added to his internal battle.
“There’s a lot of emotions right now and I’m going to have to do a good job to control that,” he said. “I’m trying to. It’s not easy. We all know my history with Cleveland … I’m going to always have a special place for this city, for these fans, in my heart. But now I’m with the Warriors. This is my team and a team I’m going to fight for.”
Game 3 history
The Warriors have lost four consecutive Game 3s dating back to the Cavs’ 96-91 home victory in the 2015 Finals. The Warriors lost 133-105 at Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals, 120-108 at Portland in the conference semifinals and 97-96 at Houston in the first round.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr doesn’t believe there’s a common denominator.
“I wish I knew. I would just tell the guys not to do that, whatever it was, but every series is different,” Kerr said. “In Oklahoma City we were out of sorts. I think we’ve had a couple of Game 3s where maybe we let our guard down, up 2-0 type thing. We’ve just got to come out and play better.”
Kerr might not have found a link in the four losses, but Harrison Barnes did.
“The storyline tends to be the same, the other team comes out hungrier than we do,” Barnes said. “We can’t afford to spot a team 10, 15 points on the road in the playoffs and think we’re going to have miraculous comebacks. It doesn’t always work that way.”
Olympic decisions
James reiterated that he will probably make his decision whether to participate in the summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro “right after the season’s over,” and said he won’t be influenced by which players have decided to skip it.
The Warriors’ Stephen Curry joined those ranks on Monday, but said concerns over the mosquito-borne Zika virus did not play a part.
Curry said he made the decision based on ankle and knee injuries he suffered in the playoffs, the short time frame between the Finals and the start of Team USA training camp on July 18, and how participating in the Aug. 6-21 Games would cut down his preparation for the 2016-17 season.
A possible Finals Game 7 would be June 19; USA Basketball plans to announce the Olympic roster on July 27.
Kerr said he was not consulted.
“As his coach I’m pleased. He needs rest,” Kerr said. “Being in the Olympics is a great honor, but for Steph, I think he weighed all the dynamics and realized that a summer of rest would be the best thing for him long-term.”
Notes
Richard Jefferson called his 12-point and five-rebound effort in 26 minutes of Game 2 “halfway decent.” His plus-minus ratio was minus-14; no Cav reached the plus column. “At the end of the day, I want to know that I gave it my all,” Jefferson said. “I didn’t struggle mentally. I don’t care if I make shots, miss shots; I’m just going to play my hardest. I try to be an example for all my teammates.” … The Warriors’ Draymond Green on following up his 28-point performance: “I’m sure I won’t be as open as I was, but I’ll be open.”
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.