Written by Dave McMenamin at ESPN.com
Trailing the Golden State Warriors 2-0 in the NBA Finals and dealing with uncertainty regarding Kevin Love’s playing status, LeBron James projected an aura of urgency when he spoke to the media Tuesday.
“It’s going to be the next man up,” James said in advance of Wednesday’s Game 3. “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.”
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue was noncommittal about Love’s status, sharing only that the star forward was “feeling better” after suffering a concussion in Game 2. Lue said the Cavaliers wouldn’t know whether Love could play until Wednesday.
A source close to the three-time All-Star told ESPN that Love was optimistic about his chances of playing in Game 3.
“Obviously his health is very important, but in the situation we’re in now, we’ve got to stay confident,” James said. “And whoever Coach decides to give the nod to got to be ready to go, and everybody else has to step up.”
Regardless of whether the Cavs have Love on Wednesday and whether they opt for some of the lineup changes that Lue admitted he has discussed internally with his coaching staff in the days since Game 2, James stressed the importance of bringing a better effort than his team did in Oakland, where Cleveland dropped the first two games by a combined 48 points.
“Obviously, it’s a do-or-die game for us,” James said. “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.
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