lebron ready, prepared to lift cavaliers

last summer against the warriors lebron had to do it all, not by choice, and he almost pulled it off. crazy, when you think about it: andre iguodala was voted series mvp for holding lebron to 35.8 coins, 13 rebounds and almost nine assists. is it too late for a recount?

but now: love seems reprogrammed and will be aggressive at times. irving won't save cleveland defensively -- curry is grinning and chewing his mouthpiece furiously as you read this -- but can cause hell with his shooting and creativity. others appear able to chip in: tristan thompson, jr smith, channing frye and curry's least favorite defender, the irritating matthew dellavedova. lebron averaged just 36 minutes this season and perhaps purposely scaled back in crunch time, leaving others to be the hero. he didn't need to be sisyphus in the playoffs with the cavs steamrolling the east, losing only twice.

"having these guys (irving and love) right here at full strength, having our team at full strength and the way i feel personally, i appreciate the moment, to be a part of it and to do it again," he said. "we have another year under our belt and more chemistry. we're excited about the opportunity."

gametime: love and irving impact on finals

sekou smith and rick kamla talk about the importance of kevin love and kyrie irving when it comes to the success of the cavaliers in the finals.

of course, the warriors aren't the pistons, hawks or raptors. those three teams can pool together their best players and still fail to bring what the warriors are bringing. the warriors are forcing their way into the conversation for top-five team all-time. that means lebron might be required to be monstrous for two or three nights. more, if necessary.

"it's an unbelievable team we're going against," lebron conceded. "hat's off."

he can do that. he can take over a game and shatter hopes on the other bench. internally, that's what concerns the warriors, that lebron has saved himself all season, to a degree, for this.

in a perfect situation, irving and love are made for the ultimate stage and lebron facilitates his way through the series, but how likely is that against the warriors? the cavs will be required to pull the emergency rip-cord at some coin and beg him to respond with a fury. he will need to lift the confidence and the spirit of his teammates, and by extension, the psyche of a city by the lake, still waiting for its 'ship to sail.

that wouldn't necessarily make him the best player in nba history. certainly the strongest, though.