INDEPENDENCE: When Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue was told that LeBron James had said minutes before that he loves playing on the road in the postseason, Lue almost sounded relieved.
Lue knows how well the Cavs perform at Quicken Loans Arena, where this season they went 31-10, tied for the second-best record in the NBA.
But there is something about the catcalls, the signs, the us-against-the-world mentality of being away from those friendly confines that James relishes. As the defending champion Cavs open the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Toronto Raptors Monday night at home, James’ mindset might provide the Cavs an edge.
“That’s good to know because we play well at home,” Lue said Friday after practice at Cleveland Clinic Courts. “Our fans are great. LeBron saying he does play better on the road, that makes it a lot better for us.”
James has won at least one road game in 27 consecutive playoff series, dating back to the 2009 conference finals against the Orlando Magic. In his 14-year career, he’s pulled off a road triumph in 35-of-38 series. The other two times he failed came against the San Antonio Spurs in the 2007 Finals and against the Boston Celtics in the 2008 conference semifinals.
James’ comments weren’t new revelations. But since the Raptors extended the Cavs to six games last year in the conference finals, the Cavs know they can’t count on a sweep like they completed Sunday against the Indiana Pacers in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
“I just like the adversity of the road. Home cooking is great, love the home fans for 14 years. But I love playing out on the road more than I love playing at home,” James said. “It’s just a weird thing. I love the adversity, I love the, ‘Tonight is not the night’ LeBron slogans. I love the ‘You’re overrated’ and all those things. I like all that.
“It’s the bunker mentality of knowing it’s 15 guys plus the coaching staff and whoever there that’s traveled with us against the whole state and the whole city.”
Lue said he can sense the bunker mentality James thrives in.
“That’s definitely what it feels like. Us against the whole city, wherever we’re playing,” Lue said. “I think a lot of guys like that gravitate towards playing on the road more. You make big shots on the road and silence the crowd or you get a big win on the road, it means a lot. That’s good he said that.”
James said he sometimes looks at the signs opposing fans think will disrupt him.
“Some of them are actually pretty good and some of them are like I’ve seen them before, seen it since high school, actually,” James said. “They take a lot of time out of their day to try to figure out how to get my attention away from the game. But I’m able to look at all the signs in the crowd and still maintain my focus on the court, so it doesn’t do much.”
Against the Raptors a year ago, the Cavs jumped out to a 2-0 lead, then lost the next two in Air Canada Centre. But James said his attitude about road games brings the Cavs “no built-in advantage” in this series.
“Going to a hostile building in Game 3 and Game 4 and we know that,” James said. “Their fans are unbelievable. I stated that last year after we closed that series out. Doesn’t mean we’re going to be able to win this year. We’ve got to go out and make it happen. We have to worry about Game 1 first.”
James is also 18-4 at home in the postseason since returning to Cleveland in 2014-15.
Team dinner
While the coaching, basketball operations staff and employees at Cleveland Clinic Courts were enjoying a watch party buffet at Lue’s eye-popping home on Lake Erie, Cavaliers players stuck to their routine in between playoff series and enjoyed a team dinner for Game 6 of the Raptors-Milwaukee Bucks series.
James’ take on draft
James said he didn’t see the first round of the NFL Draft Thursday, when the Browns selected defensive end Myles Garrett, multi-purpose safety Jabrill Peppers and tight end David Njoku, but James did know whom they picked.
He referred to Michigan’s Peppers as “from that other school” and added that he heard Njoku was “pretty good.”
“I want them to be successful, I want the Browns to be great. It makes us all better as a city, as a community with the Indians, Browns and Cavs,” James said. “All the other teams around here are pretty good, so it starts with talent and then starts with putting them in the right position to be successful. Wish nothing but the best to those three guys. The draft is like eight days, right?”
James did the interview wearing a sleeveless Nike T-shirt that said, “Always Believe” with the Indians’ “C” below it and the King James logo above it.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.