LeBron James produced one of the most Herculean efforts of his career just to get the Cavs out of the first round and had a blunt response afterward

Scott Davis

Apr 30, 2018, 20:01 IST

LeBron James produced one of the most Herculean efforts of his career just to get the Cavs out of the first round and had a blunt response afterward

Jason Miller/Getty

LeBron James produced an incredible effort, playing the game's first 35 minutes and 43 minutes overall, to help the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Indiana Pacers in Game 7.
After the game, James said his effort was "what the doctor ordered" and that he was "burnt" and too tired to think of the Cavs' next series.
It may be alarming to some that James needed to expend so much energy just to get the Cavs out of the first round of the playoffs.

LeBron James is human, even if it doesn't look like it sometimes.

On Sunday, with the Cleveland Cavaliers facing elimination in a Game 7 against the Indiana Pacers, James added another chapter to his legacy, scoring 45 points on 14-of-25 shooting, with 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals to help the Cavs get the win.

James was attempting to go the distance, too, playing the entire first half, then nearly all of the third quarter before he was forced out momentarily with what ESPN's Doris Burke reported were cramps. He sat out for the first 3 minutes and 35 seconds of the fourth quarter before checking back in to finish the game.

Cameras caught him saying he was going to play the whole game.

Such effort is borderline unheard of from a 33-year-old in his 15th season. Adding to the significance is that James played all 82 games this season for the first time in his career, playing more total minutes than anyone else in the league. It's a ton of mileage for a player who seems primed to burst through the all-time record for most minutes played, and lest one think he's immune to it, James showed his mortality after the game.

When asked about the upcoming second-round matchup with the Toronto Raptors, James responded bluntly: "I'm burnt right now. I'm not thinking about Toronto right now until tomorrow. I'm ready to go home ... I'm tired. I want to go home."

James averaged 41 minutes per game in the first round against the Pacers and averaged 41 points per game in each of the Cavs' four wins. He's never been tested like that in the first round. That it took such efforts just to beat the 5th-seeded Pacers should raise alarm bells about the Cavs' chances going forward.

James was again blunt when describing his performance.

"I guess, in a sense, I had to do what I had to do to help us win ... That's what the doctor called for, and I had to go out and try to make plays, and I did that."

His teammates were appreciative of his effort. Kyle Korver said the average person doesn't realize how much energy goes into James' performances.

"For a seven-game series, to play with the output, just the energy that it took to play seven games that hard, it's unbelievable," Korver said. "He's not just playing minutes; he's got the ball in his hand almost every possession. He's playing great defense. He's getting rebounds, he's controlling the whole game.

"Allen Iverson used to say, 'You know how hard it is to shoot 30 shots a game? You know how much energy it takes to shoot 30 shots a game?' And it's true. A lot of us don't understand, to create that many shots takes a lot of energy. Bron's doing that, plus he's doing so many other things. I don't think he's appreciated enough for just how much energy he puts into every single game to do what he does."

The test is only just beginning for James and the Cavs, as they have to take on the top-seeded Raptors, without home-court advantage, in the next round. If they can get past Toronto, they'll have to face the Boston Celtics or the cruising Philadelphia 76ers - again, without home-court advantage.

James is going to have to dip into the reserves once again in the coming series.