CLEVELAND — LeBron James wanted to correct a misconception about the Cleveland Cavaliers’ recent hiatus from the postseason. Just because his team went nine days between games did not mean that the players sat around watching television and eating snacks.
“We didn’t rest,” James said. “We just didn’t have a game in front of cameras.”
After sweeping the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Cavaliers filled the void by practicing, by working on their conditioning and by preparing for the next round. Their opponent turned out to be the Toronto Raptors, who emerged from a seven-game semifinal series with the Miami Heat to collect their booby prize: James at his playoff best.
James has used the postseason as a platform to remind people that he is still good at basketball. In nine games, James is averaging 23.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.9 assists. He is shooting 52.4 percent, and Cleveland has yet to lose a game.
After his team edged the Raptors by 31 points in Game 1 of the conference finals on Tuesday night, Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue made an observation.
“The guys did a great job of maximizing their time with the days off,” he said.
Even if days off are not the same as rest, James is experienced enough to understand their value for a team with championship hopes. Playoff games are punishing ordeals. The Cavaliers took advantage of their time away from the spotlight to recharge, recalibrate and refocus. They have never looked more dominant.
The Raptors are in trouble entering Game 2 on Thursday night. In Game 1, coach Dwane Casey had his players pressure the Cavaliers on the perimeter. Their goal was to take away the 3-point shot. It was sound thinking. After all, the Cavaliers had made an average of 16.8 3-pointers a game through the first two rounds.
The Raptors limited the Cavaliers to only seven 3-pointers — but could not keep James, Kyrie Irving and the rest of the Cavaliers out of the paint. It was a problem.
“You take away the three, but if you’re not careful, you’re giving up layups,” Casey said. “That’s where we got to get that balance, and I think that’s the key for this whole series.”
James and Irving combined to shoot 22 of 30. James did not miss a shot until the third quarter. He also absorbed his share of contact on his way to the rim, a piece of equipment he attempted to dislodge from the backboard on several dunks. Lue suggested that James did not benefit from any help from the officiating crew, not that it mattered.
“Nowadays, to get a flagrant foul, you got to fall down and grab your head, roll on the ground,” Lue said. “LeBron, being so strong — guys bounce off of him.”
In the NBA, being too strong is a first-world problem. James did not sound concerned about any changes that the Raptors may make.
“As I keep telling you guys every single day, we’re not a jump-shooting team,” he said. “You guys kept looking at me crazy about it. We’re not a jump-shooting team. We’re a balanced team, and whatever the game dictates, we’re able to adjust to that.”
The Raptors would welcome the return of Jonas Valanciunas, their starting center. But he missed Game 1 with a sprained ankle and appears unlikely to play in Game 2. Bismack Biyombo has done a capable job as his replacement, but Valanciunas’ absence limits the team’s depth and hinders Casey’s rotations. The Raptors were outrebounded, 45-23.
The Raptors have no margin for error, but how much do they have left to give? They are running out of healthy bodies, and consider the workloads of their top two players. DeMar DeRozan has played 557 minutes in the playoffs, while Kyle Lowry has played 585. James has played just 339.
“Our overall energy level has to pick up,” Lowry said.
James knows how difficult it can be to summon those mysterious energy reserves. A year ago, he dragged an injury-ravaged team to the NBA Finals. But without Irving and Kevin Love, the Cavaliers fell to the Golden State Warriors in six games. James posted monster numbers: 35.8 points, 8.8 assists and 13.3 rebounds in 45.7 minutes a game. But he also shot just 40 percent from the field, his legs weary after so many games and so much contact and so little help.
The Cavaliers of today hardly resemble that team. The roster is intact, and LeBron is rested — whether he likes that word or not.
“We did an unbelievable job over the last eight days of just really conditioning ourselves and preparing to run,” Irving said. “I think the fresh legs had a lot to do with it. But we just continued to hammer home: Let’s run, let’s run, let’s get out and run.”
James and the rest of the Cavaliers are in full flight now. It remains to be seen if anyone can stop them.