LeBron James on the decisive Game 1 result: ‘I have zero level of concern at this stage’
The Cavs lost by over 20 points.
If LeBron James has any lingering worries about his team’s lackluster performance against the Celtics in Game 1, he’s sure not going to openly acknowledge them.
“I have zero level of concern at this stage,” James told reporters after the Cavaliers’ 108-83 beatdown loss to open the Eastern Conference Finals. “You get better throughout the series. You see ways you can get better throughout the series. But I’ve been down 0-1, I’ve been down 0- 2. I’ve been down before in the postseason.”
James scored a postseason-low 15 points in Cleveland’s losing effort Sunday, as the Cavs trailed by 20-plus points for the majority of the contest. James made just five of 16 field-goal attempts (31.2 percent) in one of the worst shooting nights of his playoff career. The three-time NBA champion also finished with seven turnovers, seven rebounds, and nine assists. His plus-minus was a team-low minus-32.
“For me, there’s never no level of concern no matter how bad I played tonight with seven turnovers, how inefficient I was shooting the ball,” James said. “I’m just as confident going into a series whether it’s a 0-0 series or I’m down 0-1. So we have another opportunity to be better as a ball club coming in Tuesday night.”
The Cavaliers were unable to find an offensive rhythm in Game 1, as the Celtics never trailed after jumping out to an 18-point lead to close the first quarter. James credited Boston for its “great game plan” in limiting him on the floor, but expressed confidence in his ability to respond in Game 2 at the TD Garden Tuesday.
“For me, Game 1 has always been a feel-out game for me, if you’ve ever followed my history,” James said. “So I’ve got a good sense of the way they played me today and how I’ll play going into Game 2.”
Against the Indiana Pacers and the Toronto Raptors earlier this postseason, James’s worst shooting percentage of the series also came in Game 1. The Cavaliers, of course, went on to win both series.
