Already laboring to reach his eighth straight NBA Finals with a supporting crew made mostly of cast-offs and throw-ins www.cardinalsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-mason-cole-jersey , James lost the only other All-Star on the roster on Saturday when Kevin Love was declared out for the series finale with a concussion.
Now, in what could be his final game in a Cleveland uniform – again – James will have to do it largely on his own.
In Boston, where the Celtics are perfect so far this postseason.
And in a series where the road team hasn’t really even come close.
”There’s something different about LeBron, period,” Cleveland forward Larry Nance Jr. said after James scored 46 with 11 rebounds and nine assists on Friday night to send the series to a decisive seventh game. ”I think (coach Tyronn Lue) said it best: `We’re going into a Game 7 with the baddest dude on the planet on our team.’ I like our chances.”
James is having what could be the best postseason of his career, averaging 33.9 points and just under nine assists and rebounds, with seven 40-point games, two buzzer beaters, and a sweep of top-seeded Toronto. But he’s played in every game this season – Sunday will be his 100th – and it showed in the Game 5 loss to the Celtics.
He admitted to fatigue afterward, and then played all but two minutes in Game 6 despite a sore knee from a collision with Nance.
Still, the four-time MVP carried his team even after Love banged heads with Boston’s Jayson Tatum in the first half and left the game.
”I can’t say enough good things about him,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. ”Every time we watch. Every time you’re standing out there. Every time you watch him on film. Best player in the game.”
James will probably have to do it again in Game 7 to reach the NBA Finals for the eighth straight year Lukas Dostal Ducks Jersey , something accomplished only by Bill Russell and some of his Celtics teammates in the 1960s.
Lue said he wasn’t concerned about James’ leg. Or about the team’s history in the TD Garden, where the Cavaliers lost the first three games by an average of 17 points.
”We throw it all out,” Lue said on Saturday. ”It’s one game left to go to the NBA Finals.”
The Celtics have had their own injury problems, starting in the first quarter of the season opener – at Cleveland – when top free agent Gordon Hayward went out for the year with a broken leg. Five-time All-Star Kyrie Irving, acquired from the Cavaliers in an offseason roster overhaul, needed knee surgery and was lost in March.
But they caught a break when Tatum was cleared to play on Saturday. Stevens said the team doctors checked on him ”and he’s great.”
”So nothing there as far as to be concerned about,” Stevens said.
Well, there’s one thing to be concerned about.
”We know LeBron is different than a lot of other guys, but we’ve got to get the job done,” Celtics guard Terry Rozier said. ”That’s no excuse, so we’re looking forward to it.”
For James, it’s an opportunity to extend the season for his hometown team and put off another summer of questions about his future. Eight years ago Logan Cooke Color Rush Jersey , he came to Boston for the conference semifinals and had a triple-double – 27 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists – but shot 8 for 21 with nine turnovers and the Celtics eliminated the Cavs from the playoffs.
As he left the court, James stripped off his Cleveland jersey; then came ”The Decision” and the move to Miami.
James is again able to become a free agent this season, with the Lakers, 76ers and Rockets among the most-mentioned destinations. Having led Cleveland to the city’s first major sports title in half a century in 2016, there is less pulling at him to stay home this time.
But another title would ease the pain even more. And with the injury bug hitting the Western Conference finalists – Chris Paul was the latest ruled out for a game – the East champion might not be as big an underdog as expected.
James will be ready.
”You’ve got to be poised. You’ve got to be able to handle a punch or two,” he said. ”We know it’s challenging. They’re 10-0 on their home floor, and they’ve been very successful against us, obviously, at home. But if you love challenges, then this is a great opportunity.”
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More NBA basketball: Adam Silver has encouraged the Philadelphia 76ers to both quickly and thoroughly resolve the investigation into whether team president Bryan Colangelo used Twitter inappropriately, a story that the NBA commissioner acknowledged was not one he wants to be thinking about during the league’s title series.
Silver Connor Williams Color Rush Jersey , speaking Thursday before Game 1 of the Cleveland-Golden State matchup at the NBA Finals news conference, said he has talked with 76ers officials after the story about five Twitter accounts and how they were used was broken by The Ringer earlier this week.
”Here we are, Game 1 of the finals, it’s not necessarily something that we want to be talking about,” Silver said. ”But it’s the reality of this league. And so I have no information beyond that, other than that investigation is underway.”
The 76ers retained an independent law firm to determine whether Colangelo used the Twitter accounts. The situation could overshadow Philadelphia’s efforts this summer to land any of the top players who will be free agents – a list that includes LeBron James, who’s appearing in the NBA Finals for the eighth consecutive year.
Among the targets of harsh or critical comments on those Twitter accounts: Philadelphia players Joel Embiid and Markelle Fultz, former 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie, Toronto Raptors executive Masai Ujiri and former Sixers players Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel. Embiid has said he does not believe that Colangelo wrote the tweets, dismissing the story as ”insane.”
Colangelo has acknowledged using one of the accounts to monitor NBA happenings.
”Let’s find out what’s going on,” Silver said. ”We have to separate the chatter and sort of what either fans or frankly the media are saying from the facts. The first thing we have to do here is determine what the actual facts are in this circumstance.”
Silver touched on many other topics in his annual address, including:
SPORTS BETTING
There will be wagering on Game 3 of the NBA Finals www.seahawksauthorizedshops.com/authentic-ed-dickson-jersey , at least in Delaware casinos.
That state’s officials have announced that full-scale sports betting will begin there at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday , one day before the series between Golden State and Cleveland shifts to the Cavaliers‘ home floor.
Delaware is the first state to take advantage of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that now permits states to allow sports wagering. Delaware has been permitted to offer parlay wagers on NFL games since 2009, and has had sports betting legislation on its books for nearly a decade. Other states are trying to follow suit quickly.
The NBA has told states it is seeking a 1 percent cut of betting, which it is calling an ”integrity fee” to help offset the costs of enforcement incurred by the league office and also to serve as a royalty.
”The real issue as we move to new jurisdictions that are legalizing sports betting is access to information,” Silver said. ”That’s one of the things we have sought in model legislation … and so what we can do is going to depend in large part on the quality of the information we can get from these states.”
Silver said the NBA game is the league’s ”intellectual property, and we think we should be compensated for it.”
STERLING BROWN
Silver has seen the footage of police using a Taser on Milwaukee guard Sterling Brown during an incident outside a Walgreens store in January, one that started over a parking violation.
”I saw the video for the first time when the public saw it,” Silver said. ”It’s horrific. For any of us, regardless of the fact that he’s an NBA player, it was difficult to watch. It’s painful.”
An officer approached Brown for illegal parking, called for backup and six squads responded. Silver said has also had conversations with the player’s father, Chris Brown www.seahawksauthorizedshops.com/authentic-rasheem-green-jersey , a Chicago police officer for many years.
”It’s a reality in our country right now that there’s a disconnect often between young people of color especially and police officers – incidentally black and white,” Silver said. ”And one of the things the league has undertaken, led in many ways by our players and by our leading players, has been defined ways to build bridges in communities to create dialogue directly between young people and police officers.”
Silver said some NBA teams have had meetings with police in various communities, trying to improve relations.
EXPANSION
Silver said there are no plans for expansion, though lauded the success of the NHL’s first-year Vegas Golden Knights – who are in the Stanley Cup final against the Washington Capitals.
He also congratulated Ted Leonsis, who owns both the Capitals and the NBA’s Wizards.
”Invariably, it’s only natural for any business to grow and expand at some point,” Silver said.
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