INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- With their Game 2 victory over the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena Sunday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers now hold a home-court advantage in the NBA Finals, meaning they do not have to win another game away from Quicken Loans Arena in order to clinch their first-ever league championship.
But having gone through a similar situation before with the Miami Heat, Cavaliers small forward LeBron James knows all too well that a split on the road in the first two games guarantees a team very little at this point in the postseason.
"Both teams are here for a reason," James said. "Obviously, they had the luxury of having four games if necessary on their home floor, and we have three if necessary, but for us, it doesn't matter if we're at home or on the road. We have to come out with unbelievable effort, both offensively and defensively, and if we do that, we give ourselves a good chance to win.
"The fact that we're here speaks for the organization and speaks for everyone. A lot of people have always just questioned us and things of that nature, and our team has been very, very accepting of the challenge, accepting the moment, and it's been a big plus throughout these whole playoffs."
Although James believes home-court advantage does not have as big of an impact in the NBA Finals as others want to think, he plans on using the energy from the crowd, whether positive or negative, to help will the Cavaliers past the Warriors for the second straight game.
"I can use the energy from a home crowd," James said. "I can use the energy from an away crowd, but for me, my focus is so razor sharp, it doesn't matter. I don't need something to get me where I need to go. I know our fans are going to be unbelievable tonight, and it's probably going to be the loudest I've ever heard them tonight, and I think our guys are very excited about playing in front of them.
"I know I am as well, but I don't need extra motivation right now or extra lift or things of that nature. I know it's a difficult schedule. I looked at the schedule and they have more time in their home than we have. They gave us every other day back home. They give those guys two-and-a-half days of rest when they go back home, but that's the schedule and it is what it is."
Using the crowd's energy, as well as his past experiences in four straight runs to The Finals with the Miami Heat could help James lead the Cavaliers after the loss of point guard Kyrie Irving for the balance of the series because of a fractured left kneecap suffered in Game 1.
"Experience is the greatest teacher in life, and I've been able to experience a lot of things in the four years I was in Miami that have allowed me to be who I am today, and it's not only what's happened on the court," James said.
"I got married to my wife, had another kid. Those things grow you up. Those things mature you. You know you have to want it. It automatically happens with things like that, and a lot of things have fallen into place for myself. I've accepted the role of who I am and what I'm about. I just try to give it all to my teammates, try to give it all to the organization, and hopefully, it will come back to me.
"Every experience I've had, you can draw from it. It's a different opponent, different circumstances, but every experience I've had, I can draw from, and it's helped me become who I am today."
Who James is now is a leader of a team that has dealt with challenge after challenge to get to The Finals for only the second time in franchise history.
Already without the services of power forward Kevin Love since Game 4 of the opening-round series against the Boston Celtics because of a dislocated left shoulder, the Cavaliers dealt with the two-game suspension of shooting guard J.R. Smith in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Chicago Bulls, and then, fought through a hard-charging Warriors team in Game 2 of The Finals without Irving, who missed two of the four games in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Atlanta Hawks.
But by having to overcome various challenges along the way, the Cavaliers have formed a tight bond, which has allowed James to lead the only way he knows how: by example.
"When you're able to come together as a team off the floor, it helps the process happen a lot quicker on the floor, and that's just my leadership approach, one of the qualities that I have," James said. "I don't think that's everyone. Everyone doesn't lead by that way, but that's one of my aspects of leadership, and it's helped me throughout my career."
