OAKLAND, CALIF.: Something changed for LeBron James between Games 4 and 5 of the NBA Finals.
James stumbled at times through the first four games as the Cavs fell behind 3-1. He was averaging 24.8 points, 11 rebounds and 8.3 assists, but he turned the ball over 23 times and didn’t always have a good rhythm.
In Games 5 and 6, James began making 3-pointers. He averaged 41 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists and only committed three turnovers. The change was drastic and it happened to coincide with some not-so-nice things Klay Thompson said about him and Mo Speights tweeting a picture of a baby bottle.
So did the Warriors help wake James up? He doesn’t think so.
“I would like to say I grow as the series goes on,” James said. “I start to learn from my mistakes and break into the film and seeing the ways that they’re defending me, the ways they’re defending our team, ways I can be a little more efficient. I’ve gotten better as the series has gone on.”
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue thought the switch onto Draymond Green defensively in the Finals helped ignite James.
“Offensively he’s just been taking his shots in rhythm and taking what the defense gives him,” Lue said. “Just LeBron being LeBron.”
Day in the life
Lue went through a typical game day on Sunday despite the high stakes. The team held a morning breakfast, followed by a walkthrough at the hotel. Then Lue took his customary nap.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr stuck to his routine, too, which included an hour-long hot yoga class with assistant coach Luke Walton, who departs after Sunday to become the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I’m guessing Bill Belichick and his staff don’t do that. Just throwing that out there,” Kerr joked. “It’s a special day, but you try to keep the same routine.”
Warriors’ changes
Kerr started Festus Ezeli at center Sunday and returned Andre Iguodala to the bench. Iguodala was fighting back problems. The move also gave the Warriors some rim protection they lacked following the knee injury to Andrew Bogut.
Kerr also stuck with Harrison Barnes as a starter despite Barnes’ 2-of-22 shooting in Games 5 and 6.
“The biggest thing is to realize in the playoffs and especially the Finals, the spotlight is big and there are moments for everybody where things don’t go great and you have to fight through that,” Kerr said.
Dribbles
Sunday marked the 19th Finals Game 7 in history. The home team entered 15-3, including winning the last six. The last road team to win a Game 7 in the Finals was the Washington Bullets in 1978, who won at the Seattle Supersonics. … James was on pace to average at least 30 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for the second consecutive Finals. No player ever did it before last year. … This was the first NBA Finals in which each of the first six games were decided by double figures, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.