LeBron James will face the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday for the first time since June in complete different circumstances.
James and his former Miami Heat fell 4-1 to the Spurs in the 2013-14 Finals five months ago. Since then a lot has changed in James’ career.
He decided to return his home state team of Cleveland Cavaliers during the offseason and try to build on the dream of winning a championship there.
Nevertheless, they will need to prove that a team the includes All-Stars Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving deserves the top marks. So far, not quite.
The Cavs are yet to show their real potential, and by the time the Cavaliers host the Spurs, at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland on Wednesday, in the first of their two regular-season meetings, they register a 5-4 record.
James remains adamant, that the Cavaliers could do a lot better, and dismissed rivalry suggestions against the Spurs.
“I would say it’s mutual respect,” he said.
“It’s great competition and they definitely helped me grow along the way and hopefully, I pushed them too,” he told the media on Tuesday.
The Cavs are 2-2 at home, but taking on the reigning champions, who register a 3-3 on road, could become one of the many test to the Cavaliers’ title aspirations.
And James knows what it means to face on Tony Parker-led Spurs: “If we’re not mentally focused, they’re going to embarrass us right off the jump, it’s just that simple. They come into your building and they want to embarrass you. They’re going to execute at a high level and they’re not going to beat themselves.”
