WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – LeBron James will aim to bury bitter memories of the 2007 NBA Finals when the Cleveland Cavaliers begin their playoff drive against the Detroit Pistons tomorrow.
Two years after the San Antonio Spurs annihilated the Cavaliers 4-0, forward James wants to begin a new chapter.
“It’s a big motivation,” James said yesterday of the 2007 blowout. “To see how close we were but how far we were from an NBA championship team, it motivated me a lot.
“That’s the reason I’m the player I am today, going through that experience. You only can get better when you hit bumps in the road.”
James averaged 28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.2 assists a game this season while leading the Cavaliers to an NBA-best 66-16 record, including 39-2 at home.
The five-times All-Star is a leading candidate, along with the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant and the Miami Heat’s Dwayne Wade, to capture his first MVP award.
But while James feels the award would be a nice personal achievement, he really wants to win his first title.
“I’m at the point in my career that if I’m not competing for an NBA championship, then I’m wasting my time and I’m wasting my team mates’ time,” he said.
“To be in a position to be in the playoffs and to fight for an NBA championship, I’m looking forward to it.”
Cleveland lost in the Eastern Conference semi-finals last season after a compiling a 45-37 record but added former Milwaukee point guard Mo Williams and everything changed.
James said his game “getting better in the offseason” was only one reason the Cavaliers are mounting a serious challenge for their first title. “The addition of Mo Williams in the offseason has really helped us,” said James. “We’ve had team chemistry from day one. Everyone has been focused on winning an NBA championship and getting better from the first day of training camp.”
While many NBA fans have already marked on their calendars a Cavaliers match-up against champions Boston Celtics for the East crown, James will not look beyond Detroit.
“There’s no way you can overlook the Pistons,” he said. “This is a team that’s been to the Eastern Conference finals six years in a row.
“We know how experienced that team is. We know how powerful and dangerous that team is. So we’re looking forward to the challenge just like it was the Eastern Conference finals.”
