Anyone watching Monday night saw LeBron James struggle to get the job done.
The Cleveland Cavaliers felt the absence of the suspended J.R. Smith and injured Kevin Love when they suffered a Game 1 defeat at the hands of the Chicago Bulls.
The Cavs star forward finished the loss with a stat line just one assist short of a triple-double, posting 19 points, 15 rebounds, and nine assists. However, those numbers don't reflect the difficulty James had with shooting. Going 9-of-22 from the field and missing all three shots he took from beyond the arc, James missed a crucial layup with less than 51 seconds left in the game that could have brought his team within two points. Even opponent Jimmy Butler noticed the unsuccessful shots, telling media, "I think (James) missed a lot of shots that he normally doesn't miss."
It would be easy to pin the defeat on the Cavaliers' eight days off following their elimination of the Boston Celtics, combined with the loss of two starters. James, however, chose to look inward.
"I have to be better," James told reporters after Game 1. "I wasn't that good. I have to be much better."
Cleveland entered the series 3-0 against Chicago in the regular season with Love. After dropping Game 1, James still had confidence in his squad, labeling the first game of the Eastern Conference semifinals a "feel out" game for identifying any adjustments that would need to be made.
"We'll just focus on the next game," said James. "We'll focus on (Tuesday) first. We're going to watch the film and see ways we can get better - things that we've got to do to be better and try win that game, Game 2. That's our only concern. It's not worrying about seven games. If you worry about seven games, you might not even get there.
"We've got to protect home," James added following Tuesday's practice. "Tomorrow's game is basically a must-win."
