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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS v WARRIORS

June 7, 2016

LeBron James

Cleveland, Ohio: Practice Day

Q. Just wanted to ask, in light of Steph Curry pulling out of the Olympics yesterday, I wondered, one, if you've made any sort of decision on that yet, the series not being over? And two, what will be the key factors that go into the consideration of whether you would play in the Olympics one way or the other?
LeBRON JAMES: Well, I'm just now hearing about Steph pulling out. But my decision has never been on anyone either playing on the team or being invited or not playing. I haven't made a decision yet, and I probably will make it right after the season's over.

Q. Ty said after Game 2 that you guys need to be more physical defensively, kind of alluding to the style you played last year. Is this team capable of playing that style again, and why, what was working defensively last year that is not working now?
LeBRON JAMES: Well, I haven't looked at last year's postseason. A lot of things have changed from last year, a lot of different circumstances, a lot of different rotations have changed. But if that's what Coach Lue wants us to do, and we have to follow his game plan, and we have to do it. If guys are out there not following the game plan, then he has to sub them out, and other guys have to come in and do what he wants to do. He's the commander, and we've got to go out there and do it.

Q. LeBron, everyone always says bench players, the role players play better at home. Besides that and familiarity, sleeping in your own bed, what goes into the homecourt advantage? You guys are unbeaten so far, they had their way out there.
LeBRON JAMES: We're a confident bunch especially at home, definitely our role players have given us a huge boost throughout this postseason. Not only on the road, but especially at home, our fans have done a great job of giving us everything and it's our job to kind of give it back to them. So I know the guys are excited about the opportunity to get back out there tomorrow night and defend home court as we've done so far in this postseason.

Q. LeBron, I asked Coach Lue if there's anything that you could do to improve your game moving into Game 3, and one of the things he said is just be more aggressive. When you're more aggressive, what does that entail in your game?
LeBRON JAMES: Well, for me, I try to do whatever it takes to help our team win, and I do everything offensively, defensively, getting guys involved, rebounding, everything, so my game doesn't waver one way or the other. I'm not a pure scorer. I'm not an all-assist guy. I'm not just a rebounder. I do everything. So for me I said that after Game 2 that I've got to play better, but as far as my numbers, I don't worry about that.

Q. Is there anything specific?
LeBRON JAMES: Nothing specific. I've just got to go out there and play better.

Q. Kevin's been such a big part of this postseason for you guys. How do things change if you can't go tomorrow night and beyond?
LeBRON JAMES: It's going to be the next man up. We're down 0-2, and we can't afford to look and say, "Wow, Kev's not playing. What are we going to do?" It's next man up, because it's a must-win for us.

So obviously his health is very important, but in the situation we're in now, we've got to stay confident. And whoever Coach decides to give the nod to got to be ready to go, and everybody else has to step up.

Q. It's been a long time since you've been down 0-2 in the series, but the last two times, one was against the Pistons in '07 and you guys came back and won that, and the other one was the Celtics the next year and you forced a Game 7. Do you rely at all on those two experiences as you approach this 0-2 deficit? What is it? How do you climb out of an 0-2 hole?
LeBRON JAMES: I don't know. I don't really think about past experiences too much. This moment is what it is today. You do a great job of taking me back. You love my history. You always take me back and make me go back (smiling).

Q. One of these days you're going to (inaudible).
LeBRON JAMES: When I'm done we can talk about the history of it. But I'm the leader of this team, and we have other guys that are ready to step up. Obviously, it's a do-or-die game for us. We can't afford to go down 3-0 to any team, especially a team that's 73-9 in the regular season and playing the type of basketball they're playing. So it's a do-or-die game for us, and we understand that.

So we're going to come in and give everything that we've got and leave it on the floor.

Q. Do you guys need more three-point makes and attempts? Is it necessary? What can be done to maybe free up some shots at the three-point line?
LeBRON JAMES: Well, I think being aggressive, getting into the paint. Then if we can make a couple shots at the rim, which we have not been so successful with in this two-game series so far, it will start opening up our guys on the perimeter. So myself, and Kyrie and hopefully Kevin, we can attract some more defenders and get some bodies off some of our shooters, we can allow those guys to get open. But they've done a great job, and I know it's a game plan of those guys to take away our three-point shooters. They've seen what we've done so far in the postseason. They've done a great job of slowing them down so far.

Q. This is a bit off the beaten path, but I know you made some dietary changes a couple years ago to make your game better, to slim down. We saw the pictures. What kind of things do you have to avoid? And what is the hardest thing after the game that you reach for that you can't end up having?
LeBRON JAMES: Well, I think right now it's not as strict as it's been in the past. But obviously when you get to a point in your career where you know what benefits you more than others, then you're able to stay away from it, and it's very difficult being in a household with three kids where there's a lot of junk food around and things of that nature and they're running around and putting it in your face. It's very difficult. Every now and then I'll dab with them a little bit. Either, I say to make them happy, but it's actually making me happy (laughing).

Q. What are we talking, Cheetos, Doritos?
LeBRON JAMES: I don't want to talk specifics unless they want to -- if I say it, then I've got to get a phone call from one of them (laughing).

Q. When the Raptors tied the series at two last round, you said there was no need to panic. You've been in a lot of adverse situations and you said that wasn't one of them at that time. The Warriors, they just took care of home court, but it seemed like the way they did it and the size and their advantage, does this qualify as an adverse period? And if so, how does that change what you say to the team or approach?
LeBRON JAMES: I think Game 1 we played good basketball. They just took care of business for 12 minutes and took us out the game, and that was the fourth quarter. Game 2 for two-and-a-half quarters they pretty much did what they wanted to do. So for about four quarters of two games they've played some great basketball. They've played as great as I've seen them play, which is not always -- you wish you were not on the other side of that. But I don't think it's an adverse moment, but I would say that we all can sit here and say there is no way we can go down 3-0, you know. And I'm not a big history guy, even though I love the history of the sport, but I don't like to put myself in it. But coming back home and understanding this is our home floor and we've played some really good basketball, we can't afford to go down 3-0, especially against this team.

So it will be more adversity if we got to that point, which I don't believe we will.

Q. With the way Golden State plays on offense, do you think if you guys played better on offense that could help your defense just with the rebounds and such?
LeBRON JAMES: Yeah, of course. If we can score a little bit more, which I believe we will do in Game 3, that will help our defense out a lot, too. When you miss versus those guys it gives them the ability to get out and run, which they're very good at. Either from Draymond pushing the break or Iguodala pushing the break or Steph and those guys run the floor and they run to their spots and create a lot of problems. So if they're taking the ball out of bounds, then it slows it up just a little bit. So we've got to do a better job of putting the ball in the basket.

Q. Phil Jackson commented on the NBA Finals yesterday, and he said he coached Michael in a series in '93 when the Bulls were down 2-0 to the Knicks and he played like a man possessed in order to bring the team back. Do you have to get yourself to a different level mentally? Does the idea of being a man possessed, could that help you turn the series around?
LeBRON JAMES: I mean, what does that actually mean? I mean, I think for me to go out and be who I am and play as true to the game and as hard as I can and try to lead this team, that's who I am. Not anybody else. I'm not Michael. I'm not Ali. I'm not nobody else that's done so many great things for sport. I am who I am, and if I'm able to go out and put together a game like that, it wasn't because I was possessed. It's because I worked on my craft all season long and that's the result of it.

Phil's a great coach. Mike's a great player. But I am who I am.

Q. It's just common sense that guys like you who touch the ball every trip, you're going to turn it over from time to time obviously. I mean you beat yourself up pretty good after the game Sunday night. How quickly did it take you to turn the page off that? When you went back and studied it, was it something you chalked up to the way they were playing you or were there some things that you wish you had back?
LeBRON JAMES: It was a little bit of both. I watched the game as soon as I got on the bus. First time in a while I caught the first bus leaving the arena. And myself and James Jones sat next to each other on the bus and watched the game, all the way to the hotel back to San Francisco. And I seen some of them that were uncharacteristic, but some of them were being aggressive, and they just got their hands on a few of them. A couple of them were bad footwork; I traveled and a few of the third-quarter moves where I just took an extra step and wasn't as sound with my footwork. So that's something I can clean up.

So, you know, I'm out there making plays for myself and making plays for my teammates as well. So you're going to have some turnovers, but some of them I can clean up for sure. So 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.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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