The Chicago Bulls took away homecourt advantage from the Cleveland Cavaliers by beating them 99-92 in Game 1. LeBron James did all that he could to help the Cavs win, finishing an assist shy of a triple-double (19-15-9).
Despite that great line, James had an off game. He had a game-high six turnovers and shot the ball poorly, going 9-for-22 from the field and zero-for-three on three-pointers. James also had trouble getting to the free-throw line, managing to only make one free-throw out of his two attempts.
Jimmy Butler defended James for the majority of the game and while he did play great defense, he even admitted to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that LeBron just missed shots.
‘‘I think he missed a lot of shots that he normally doesn't miss…I think he's going to be taking the same shots the next game.''
But didn't Butler's defense have something to do with that?
‘‘Obviously, we were contesting everything, but LeBron is LeBron,'' Butler said. ‘‘He's going to take and make shots. You've gotta hope he misses, like he did [Monday].'
James may agree with Butler. He called Game 1 a "feel-out-game" and stated that he could frankly play better. Via the Washington Post:
“I have to be better,” James said. “I wasn't that good. I have to be much better.”
James is right though. If the Cavs want to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, they will need a better performance from their leader.
Game 2 is Wednesday night, it will be interesting to see how James performs after a poor Game 1.
