LeBron James was not ready for his season to end in April. He led the Cavaliers in all five major statistical categories in Cleveland’s series against the Indiana Pacers and scored 13-0 all the time in the first-round series after the Sunday’s 105-101 win in Game 7.
The Cleveland’s needed every ounce of James’ performance. The Pacers, led by Victor Oladipo’s 30 points on Sunday, outscored the Cavaliers with 704-664 in the series but the Indiana reserve Trevor Booker had a biased observation, “Honestly, I think we were the better team, and they had the best player in the world.” It was James’ 22nd career playoff game with at least 40 points which includes his third in this series.
James said that this was a tough series and Indiana played with the team as tough as anybody has ever played all year through. They have just got a really good team, he said further. James is now 5-2 in the Game 7s with five major victories and is averaging 34.9 points, 5.1 assists and 9.3 rebounds in a Game 7. James said, “You start thinking like, ‘Is this it? Could this be it?’ That’s just human nature. Then, the other side of my brain is like, ‘Let’s make something happen. Let’s go. This is what you’re here for. You’re here to make plays. You’re the leader.’”
James’ future is bright, just like in his Cleveland 2009-10 season and after his Miami 2013-14 season. He is expected to become a free agent in this summer and losing in the first round after the consecutive Finals appearances were bound to bring about an impact on his decision. The question of where James would be playing next, Cleveland or elsewhere has been delayed for he another series. The Cavaliers face Toronto in conference semi-finals starting on Tuesday with Game 1.
