It's not just a change to the Cleveland Cavaliers' starting lineup that the Chicago Bulls may have to deal with for Game 2 on Wednesday.
They may also be dealing with a more dialed-in LeBron James – a terrifying proposition – and a more prepared Kyrie Irving.
Coming out of Cleveland's Game 1 loss on Monday, James was critical of his own play, saying he "wasn't that good." He's expecting far more from himself in Game 2 and it sounds as if he doesn't see another 9-of-22 shooting night in the cards for himself.
"I expect to be much sharper offensively than I was in Game 1," James said Wednesday. "The efficiency wasn't up to par, to my liking."
James wasn't the only Cavalier off his game – while Irving scored 30 points, he was 2-of-7 in the fourth quarter and 0-for-3 in the game's final six minutes. Those shots, and some of those decisions, are ones Irving is chalking up to late-game fatigue, hardly a surprise considering he played a career-high in minutes this year and is in the playoffs for the first time.
Here's Irving on his struggles:
The shots I was taking, especially down the stretch, they were fatigued shots. It just wasn't in the flow of our offense. Regardless of if I'm hot or not or Bron's hot or not, it's just the guys out on there on the floor, I just have to make better decisions – whether it's going to be making one of my teammates better or me taking a shot.
Whether it's tough or not, I just have to be well prepared, especially in the fourth quarter when things get a little bit more tough, just got to be resilient and prepared with my body. To get fatigued in the fourth quarter, and it's the playoffs, guys can get tired or whatever but it's not necessarily an excuse for myself and I've just got to be better.
The Cavs need to bounce back in a major way in Game 2 or risk heading back to Chicago needing two wins in three road games the rest of the way. They're in tough as they are without Kevin Love for the series and can ill-afford another off night from James or clutch stumble from Irving.
Luckily for the Cavs, James hasn't shot worse than 41 percent in back-to-back playoff games since 2010, a span of 91 games.
