Cavs' James on shot selection: 'I don't know how much more aggressive I can get'

With Cleveland Cavaliers' point guard Kyrie Irving out for the next three to four months with a fractured left knee cap, the burden on LeBron James to deliver the goods in the NBA Finals becomes that much more cumbersome.

The King did everything but deliver a win in Game 1 against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, scoring a personal NBA Finals-best 44 points on 38 shot attempts. He also chipped in eight rebounds and six assists in 45 minutes of action.

Irving was one of only two other Cavaliers players (Timofey Mozgov) to score in double figures, contributing 23 points and seven assists before leaving early in overtime.

Losing that kind of production leaves Cleveland in a precarious position. Can J.R. Smith, who went 3-of-13 from the field for nine points in the series opener, take on more responsibility? How about Tristan Thompson and Iman Shumpert, who combined for just eight points on 3-of-10 shooting?

There's only so much James can do, as he explained to the media following practice Saturday afternoon.

Cleveland blew an opportunity to steal a game at Oracle Arena, missing two chances - including one from James - to win at the end of regulation before ultimately falling 108-100 in extra time.

Now without one of the NBA's most dynamic point guards, who had been fighting through injury for a majority of the playoffs, the Cavaliers become even more of an underdog against Stephen Curry and the Warriors' prolific offensive attack.

If what Cleveland needs to bounce back in the series is James chucking up 50 shots a night, then so be it. That may not be the best course of action, but barring one of his teammates emerging from obscurity to make up for Irving's scoring, it may be the Cavaliers' best shot at winning the first championship in franchise history.

This is the first time in NBA history that a team is without two 1,000-point scorers for one or fewer games in the Finals.

Game 2 goes down Sunday.