As if there was ever any doubt.
"I'm ready to go," LeBron James said of Tuesday's potential Eastern Conference Finals-clinching Game 4 after his team's shootaround. "I will be active tonight."
James, who has been superb in leading his Cleveland Cavaliers to a 3-0 series lead over the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks, has been dealing with a right knee injury and general wear-and-tear on his now 30-year-old body, but said after Sunday's heroic Game 3 performance that there was no chance his ailments would keep him out of Game 4.
The four-time MVP has logged 41.6 minutes per game during the playoffs while using a league-leading and career-high 36.6 percent of Cleveland's possessions, which surely factor into his career-low postseason True Shooting Percentage of 49.0.
Still, his overall numbers have been otherwordly, even for a king's legendary standards, as James has averaged 27.9 points, 10.5 rebounds, 8.4 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.3 blocks through the Cavs' playoff run thus far - including averages of nearly 33, 12 and 10 in the East Finals.
Making James' performance even more impressive is that he's been doing it with a dwindling supporting cast, as star power forward Kevin Love was lost for the season to a shoulder injury in the final game of the first round, while All-NBA point guard Kyrie Irving has missed the last two games - and has been limited throughout the postseason due to knee tendinitis.
James has been getting around-the-clock treatment to be ready for game time, and at this point it would likely take a significant, future-threatening injury to keep him off the floor.
That's bad news for the Hawks, who will have to become the first team in NBA history to rally from a 3-0 deficit if they hope to be playing in next month's Finals.
