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Lue: LeBron needs to 'set the tone early' in Game 6

Jason Miller / Getty Images Sport / Getty

To secure a second straight appearance in the NBA Finals, as well as a sixth in six years for LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers will need to accomplish something they haven't been able to do all year on Saturday night - win a game at the Air Canada Centre.

A 3-2 series lead in the Eastern Conference finals means Cleveland can afford to lose Game 6 with Game 7 taking place at Quicken Loans Arena. Nonetheless, Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue would rather his team close out the Toronto Raptors ahead of time, with James performing like the unstoppable force that he is.

"He has to be very assertive," Lue said of James on Thursday before the Cavaliers boarded its charter flight, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst. "He has to set the tone early and the rest of the guys will follow."

The King hasn't been one to impose his will offensively early in games against the Raptors, averaging 3.6 shot attempts for 6.4 points during the first quarter. He's acted as more of a facilitator to get the likes of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love going. Since Toronto has had little to no answer for him on defense (63.2 FG%), it makes sense for James to focus more of his attention on the success of his teammates, since he knows he can take over whenever he so pleases.

The issue at hand, though, is that the four-time league MVP hasn't grabbed the bull by the horns as of yet, at least in the team's two road losses. After taking just 17 shots and none in the final five minutes of Game 4, James reiterated how important it is for the Cavs to not be a one-man show.

"We didn't get to this point in our season by me taking over every game," James said. "My presence on the floor is much bigger than what numbers talk about. When you have a young superstar like (Irving), you have Kevin (Love), who's a superstar as well, and they've helped us get to this point, so you don't just throw in the kitchen sink because we lose two games or we didn't play as well as we could. There may be a time when I may have to have one of those big games, but until then, just relax."

Toronto hasn't posed much of a threat when in enemy territory, losing by over 30 points in two of their three games away from the ACC. That number isn't enough for Lue to feel entirely confident that the series is a wrap, with a victory on Saturday being Cleveland's primary objective.

"This is our Game 7," Lue added. "We've been working the whole year to get to this point."

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