	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS v WARRIORS

June 15, 2016

LeBron James

Cleveland, Ohio: Practice Day

Q. I asked T Lue the same question: Given all the talk about iso basketball and kind of painting it collectively in a negative light, do you think it's unfair to chronicle all zero or one-dribble basketball as being something that's bad, or putting yourself at a disadvantage?
LeBRON JAMES: I think it's a fine line, but I think true basketball people know the difference between certain iso basketball and others, and when too many dribbles of wearing a possession out and guys are not actively involved, there is a difference between that and also when guys are just attacking early in transition or they have a half-court matchup and able to go on that matchup. So there's different forms of it.

Q. I know you had talked to Adam [Silver] in the past couple years about concerns about schedule and things of that nature, the All-Star Break and stuff like that. How much did you welcome the extra travel day when you're going cross country in a series of this magnitude?
LeBRON JAMES: Well, it benefits not only the players but also you guys as well, being able to get an extra day and prepare from coast to coast. When I was in Miami we went to a couple places -- when I was in Miami, everywhere we went was far, and the last two years from us going Cleveland to Golden State, the one day in between was taxing on all of us. Not just the guys on the court, but you guys as well. So it benefits all of us as a league.

Q. I can't remember if you've been asked this before during these Playoffs, but do you believe in momentum carrying from game to game within a series?
LeBRON JAMES: Yeah, I think that's always been the case in the postseason. I think it also depends on the way you played and where you played at. I think that helps. But, I mean, both teams in this series have shown that they can win on each other's floor, so I don't think that matters much.

Q. Kyrie was talking about this earlier, if you take away a five-minute stretch in Game 4, it's been pretty good for you guys the last three. Do you feel like you have momentum to whatever degree it's there?
LeBRON JAMES: I feel like we'll be prepared for Game 6. Our coaching staff has given us another great game plan. They're going to give us some more insight on what needs to be done tomorrow morning at our shootaround, and it's up to us as the guys to go out and execute that.

Q. You stated many times that you came here because Kyrie was here already as sort of a franchise guy, but how much has your relationship grown with him over time, and how much have you tried to help expedite his growth into a star?
LeBRON JAMES: Well, I think when you're around someone every single day your relationship automatically grows. But when you also share some of the same common goals, it helps that process a little bit faster than others. I've watched the kid continue to grow over the last two years, and it's a benefit not only for himself individually, but for our team, for me, and for this franchise.

Q. I don't know that you need any added motivation going into tomorrow night, but it's one year to the day tomorrow that the Warriors won in Game 6 in this building. Do you guys take anything from not wanting to see that trophy hoisted in your building again?
LeBRON JAMES: No, I mean, I don't think we even thought about it. It's always one year to the date of something. You can say that about anything. I mean, yesterday was one year to date that my son turned 8, and yesterday he turned 9. So it happens every year, it's one year to the date to something. We don't think about that stuff. We just get prepared to play.

Q. This is a question not related to the game, but since there's been a lot of publicity yesterday and today about Godfather II, what is the phrase that you like more from the movie?
LeBRON JAMES: Oh, Godfather? There's too many different phrases and too many different lines in that movie to just categorize one.

Q. But which is the one that inspires or represents you more?
LeBRON JAMES: I mean, each movie is nine hours long. I mean, what do you want me to do? I mean, there's so many. I don't know. I'll let you pick one and I'll roll with it. It's a great trilogy.

Q. Understanding that you and Kyrie had it going offensively the other night, what do you guys need from Kevin Love in Game 6 to do what you want to do?
LeBRON JAMES: Just need him to be aggressive. You know, from the defensive side of the floor and the offensive side of the floor, go out and make an impact on the game, no matter if he's not scoring, no matter if at times he feels like he's not getting touches. We all just need to continue to be aggressive. He needs to be aggressive to help us try to send this game back to Golden State.

I think he's looking forward to the challenge. I think he's looking forward to the moment. We definitely need him. He's too big of a piece to our puzzle.

Q. In that regard, do you need more than what he gave the other night?
LeBRON JAMES: I think with everything that he gave us, I mean, he helped us win. We needed everybody, all 15 guys. Even the guys that never even touched the floor. We had two guys in suits. We needed everybody's contribution.

We definitely need Kev to play better. We want him to play better, but we don't want to add no more stress on him or added pressure. We just want him to go out and play, just let it hang out.

Q. You've probably heard hundreds, if not thousands, pregame speeches from coaches over the course of your career. Did anything resonate with you what Ty spoke to you guys about before Game 5? What can that functionality, a coach talking to a team about philosophy before the floor, affect his team?
LeBRON JAMES: Oh, definitely. His words resonate throughout the whole locker room, and some of the things he said I won't bring out to the table because it's for locker room use only. But just his sense of calmness and his sense of just stay in the moment has definitely given, especially the young guys, just a confidence booster. For us as a group, when you have someone that calm and collected about what needs to be done and just staying in the moment, it just helps us go out and do our job.

Q. I'm sure you heard Andrew Bogut's out. How does that impact you guys and your game plan, if at all?
LeBRON JAMES: It doesn't. We want to continue to attack. We want to continue to not turn the ball over and stop those guys, Steph and Klay, from just having one of these barrages from the perimeter. We also want to try to put pressure on those other guys. Those other guys can beat you as well, with Draymond coming back and also Iguodala, and Livingston and Barnes and things of that nature, and even Andy gave them a big couple minutes last couple games, Speights as well, and everyone that they put in.

Even with Bogut out, they still have so much firepower that it doesn't take any of the focus out of our mind going into Game 6.

Q. When you see Draymond on the court, considering the exchange you guys had, will anything come to your mind when you see him out there on the court?
LeBRON JAMES: My only job is to get this win, man. We have a great opportunity to protect home court and go into two of the best words ever, and that's "Game 7". So hopefully we can protect home. That's all that matters.

Q. Last year, obviously, you guys didn't have Kyrie and Kevin at this time, but what else is different about coming into Game 6 this year as opposed to last year?
LeBRON JAMES: We didn't have Kyrie and Kevin (laughing). Those guys are a big piece of what we do. Obviously Kyrie has shown that and Kevin throughout this postseason as well. I think Richard Jefferson has definitely given us a huge boost throughout the whole Playoffs, Channing Frye as well, even though his minutes have been a little bit limited in this Finals. But in the postseason they've given us a boost. And everyone that's come back from last year's roster has given us a huge boost to get to this point.

So we feel good about our chances. We were also coming off a loss that we had our chances in Game 5 and a couple possessions down the stretch last year we just didn't communicate and they made us pay. So we like our chances.

Q. A lot was made comparing your game the other night to the Boston game a few years ago, and your numbers across the board in elimination games are very, very good. Does something change for you when it's absolutely do or die like you've been saying, but it really is an elimination game? What changes for you in that moment?
LeBRON JAMES: I don't know. I've just been fortunate enough to, I guess, make some shots, for one. Grab some rebounds, find some teammates. Guys put the ball in my face and get some blocks, and guys throw some errant passes and I'm able to get some steals.

Q. That's it? It's that simple?
LeBRON JAMES: It's that simple. It's not easy, but it's that simple. I just go out and play. I don't know what happens in elimination games. I understand the magnitude of it, but it's not -- it doesn't bother me too much. Just go out, and I know how much I put into the game. I know how true I am to the game. I know how much work that I put into the game when no cameras are around and things of that nature. So I'm able to try to just bottle that, just bottle that and live with the results. I mean, it's not always been great, but I guess the last few games, elimination games it's been pretty good, and hopefully I can continue that tomorrow.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297