Cleveland Cavaliers small forward LeBron James is focused on the present and future more so than the recent past.
Over his last four games, James has not shot better than 44.8 percent from the field, and set a personal low for the postseason this year with a 32 percent performance (eight of 25) in Friday's 99-96 last-second loss in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals to the Chicago Bulls at the United Center.
One of those 17 misses came with 23 seconds left in regulation. James had gotten a step on a defender, but was too strong off the glass with the layup attempt. Had James made the shot, he would have given the Cavaliers a 95-94 advantage. Instead, the Cavaliers had to foul, and needed a 25-foot three-pointer from shooting guard J.R. Smith to tie the game with 10 seconds left, only to have their hearts broken by Derrick Rose's bank-shot triple at the buzzer.
"I expect to make every shot I take, but sometimes, the law of averages doesn't happen that way," James said. "I was very aggressive trying to get to the lane. I got a good look at it, and that's all you can ask. I missed it, we fouled. Down three, we were able to come down and run a set that we drew up. I hit J.R. and he hit a three. We still gave ourselves a chance even after my missed layup."
While James has struggled to shoot the ball, nowhere have his issues been more evident than from beyond the three-point arc.
James made just one of his seven three-point attempts in the Game 3 loss, which gave the Bulls a 2-1 series lead over the Cavaliers. That was his first make of the entire series from three-point range, as he missed all five of his attempts in Games 1 and 2.
"I think you were very kind about how I'm shooting the three right now," James told a reporter after Friday's game. "I'm terrible. Maybe, I need to put it up for a little bit, but some of them are in rhythm and they're just not falling. I'm not shooting the three well, at all, and it's funny because I'm shooting the free throw extremely well, but I couldn't make a three-pointer.
"For me, I'm going to take the looks. If I get a good look, I'm going to take it. I think I did a good job of mixing it up, being able to get to the free-throw line, taking some jumpers. Obviously, I didn't shoot the ball well from the field, at all, and it started in the first half. I missed a couple layups, missed a couple easy looks, and I just tried to will myself to make a few plays for us in the fourth quarter to give us a chance. As far as the three-point line, I'm not shooting as well as I'm capable of shooting, for sure."
In addition to his struggles on the offensive end of the floor, James had a momentary lapse in composure, which resulted in an exchange of words with Bulls power forward Joakim Noah.
With 8:33 to play in the third quarter, James put the Cavaliers in front of the Bulls, 56-55, after spinning away from a defender, driving the baseline and throwing down a one-handed dunk in traffic. Following the dunk, James stared down Noah and said something that earned him a technical foul.
Noah responded by using a couple of expletives on his way up the floor, which also drew a technical foul.
"What happened was the play before that play where he fouled me," James said. "Jo, I love his emotion. As a competitor, I love his emotion, but I think the words he used for me were a little bit too far. I'm a father with three kids, and it just got very disrespectful. I'm okay with competing against Jo. I love the competitive nature in him, but we should leave it there.
"The disrespectful words that he called me was uncalled-for. The best way to retaliate is by making a play, and that's the only way I know how to resolve things, by making a play. I tried to help our team, and it happened bang-bang. If it were the 90s or the 80s, then I would have been able to say what had to say and move on, but I got the T. I earned it."
After tempers calmed down following the game, James was succinct in how he, and his team, need to respond in Game 4.
"I've got to make the plays," James said. "Ky (Irving) will make some plays. Everyone needs to have a hand in us making plays, both offensively and defensively, to try to get a win. I think that time has kind of passed right now as far as me wondering the type of reaction our young guys will bring to the game. They're fighters."
