Some Cavaliers still re-living title, but LeBron James moving on
CLEVELAND — LeBron James, now a three-time NBA champion, has moved on from last summer’s heroics.
Down 3-1 to the Golden State Warriors, the Cleveland Cavaliers clawed back against an all-time team, featuring all-time players, to make history and win their first NBA title. In the process James wiped away the stain of his 2010 departure, validated his return and endeared himself to Cleveland fans forever.
Just don’t expect him to dwell on it for very long.
"I think I took maybe two or three days off in the offseason before I got back to just training still," James said at Cavaliers media day.
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"I know we won a championship. I know we had a great parade and the fans here were ecstatic about what we did, but for me, it hasn’t hit me. I don’t really look back on it."
Not that winning another title has become commonplace for James, but consider his answer to the very first question posed on Monday: "We’re the defending champions, but that means absolutely nothing right now."
Coach Tyronn Lue, an NBA champion as both a player and a coach, had nearly the same message. Both recognize that last season is in the books and that their primary competition, the Warriors, got markedly better with the addition of Kevin Durant.
Though James organized a pre-training camp workout last week in Santa Barbara that was attended by nearly the entire roster, there were still two key players intent on re-hashing last summer’s Finals.
"For me, after 'The Shot,' which it’s crazy to think that it has its own title now, you have 'The Block' and 'The Stop,' " Kyrie Irving said of his clutch, title-clinching three-pointer over Stephen Curry with less than a minute remaining in Game 7. "It was always a progression of 'The Block' and then 'The Shot' and then 'The Stop.' "
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Irving admitted to watching Games 1-7 on NBA TV this summer, and he copped to sending a few snapchats of the series to his teammates. It’s a good bet that Kevin Love, responsible for "The Stop" when he harassed Curry into a contested three-pointer during the frenzied final minute, sent a few snaps of his own.
"The two plays that I look at are that unbelievable play of the year block that LeBron had (on Andre Iguodala) and then Kyrie’s ice-in-his-veins cold-blooded three that he had to really put us ahead," Love said.
Those three plays encapsulated the Cavaliers’ championship and, whether he admits it or not, likely play on a loop in James’ mind. But James’ tenor was clear. Last year’s memories will do nothing to stop opponents from trying to knock the Cavaliers off their perch.
The only offseason moves of consequence were signing aging veterans Mike Dunleavy and Chris "Birdman" Andersen and drafting Kay Felder as a back-up point guard. They’re awaiting word on free agent J.R. Smith, but that’s it.
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There’s no major talent infusion coming to energize the roster. If the Cavaliers are to get back to a third consecutive NBA Finals, it’s once again going to be on James, Irving and, to a lesser degree, Love. They know what they have in James, who says his body feels great, but the bigger question remains with Irving. How much better can Irving be after proving he’s in the upper echelon of NBA point guards and then winning a gold medal this summer at the Rio Olympics?
"With Kyrie, I’ve always talked about he has no offensive weaknesses," Lue said. "He can post the basketball, he can pull up off the dribble, shoot behind the screen, floaters, can finish over the bigs, 90% free-throw shooter. I mean, offensively, he has no weaknesses."
The general consensus is that Irving’s future is exceptionally bright, but Lue hasn’t completely moved on from last year’s triumph.
"The Game 7 three-point shot is just who Kyrie is," Lue added. "He has that dog in him."
Follow Michael Singer on Twitter @msinger.
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