CLEVELAND — LeBron James called Game 3 of the NBA Finals a "must-win" and a "do-or-die" type of contest, which is obvious but needed to be said anyway. A loss to the Warriors on Wednesday wouldn't kill the Cavaliers, but it would almost certainly doom them. No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series and attempting to do so against a team as great as Golden State would seem to be an impossible task.
"We can't afford to go down 3-0 to any team, especially a team that's 73-9 in the regular season and playing the type of basketball they're playing," James said. "So, it's a do-or-die game for us, and we understand that. So, we're going to come in and give everything that we've got and leave it on the floor."
This is not unprecedented territory for LeBron. He's been on Cleveland teams that faced this kind of series hole and he's not only won them (2007 against Detroit), he also forced a Game 7 in 2008 against Boston. That 2007 team was eventually swept in the Finals against San Antonio, but all that is history, ancient history really, and has very little to do with the matter at hand. James wasn't feeling that particular angle, but history weighs heavily here and hovers over this series like an anvil that's ready to drop a thousand pounds of regret on whoever happens to be standing below.
At the moment it's poised to fall on LeBron and the Cavs, who were beaten badly in the first two games and offered little reason for optimism heading into Game 3 other than the fact that they will be at home where their record has been stellar. A loss on Wednesday would kickstart another round of big-picture questions, from the construction of their roster to LeBron's Finals record and on and on. Game 3 will be their defining moment and a chance to recast the present into something more compelling.
For their part the Warriors are feeling free and confident. Having faced their own battle with mortality in the conference finals, and with last year's championship in their back pocket, their path is currently free of obstacles and they'd like to keep it that way.
"In a perfect world, we wouldn't hear anything they had to say and we could just worry about what our game plan is, but obviously, that's not possible," Steph Curry said. "But you have to have a collective mindset that we know they're going to make adjustments. We know they're going to come out with a sense of urgency in the moment. But we need to have that same mentality, because for what's at stake, if we're able to go up 3-0, that is a great position to be in. That is the opportunity in front of us. So we can't get complacent."
We can talk about tactics or adjustments all we want. The Cavs could try and play big against the Warriors' small lineups. They could try to slow down offensively and dictate tempo. They could stop trapping so aggressively against Curry and Klay Thompson. They could try to do all those things and perhaps they should, but really they need to start by playing better, as simplistic as that sounds.
That starts with LeBron, who has not put his imprint on this series yet. He's averaging 21-10-9 through the first two games but shooting just 42 percent from the floor while racking up an unsightly 11 turnovers. After taking the blame in Game 2, he exited Oracle Arena quickly and immersed himself in the game tape with longtime teammate James Jones on the bus ride back to the hotel.
As inviting as it sounds to ask LeBron to simply take over, that plays right into Golden State's hands. The genius of the Warriors in this series has been their switching defense, which invites 1-on-1 play, limits ball movement and has led to stifled half-court sets. James, who is as savvy as any player in the league, understands this.
"Well, for me, I try to do whatever it takes to help our team win, and I do everything offensively, defensively, getting guys involved, rebounding, everything, so my game doesn't waver one way or the other," James said. "I'm not a pure scorer. I'm not an all-assist guy. I'm not just a rebounder. I do everything. So for me I said that after Game 2 that I've got to play better, but as far as my numbers, I don't worry about that."
He has often been tasked with the impossible and considering the stakes, the expectations and the point in his career, this may be the most daunting moment of LeBron's career. To beat the Warriors he must be at his best and most resourceful, but there is a creeping feeling that it may simply be out of his hands. James and the Cavs are on the brink. Game 3 will show us just how close to the end they really are.
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