LeBron James says pursuit of third NBA Championship has been exhausting
By Bryan Rose
Shocking as it is to say – for the past few weeks we’ve seen LeBron James almost look human.
The Miami Heat superstar suffered a groin injury in December against the Sacramento Kings and for the first time in ages, looked to be off his game for a multiple game stretch.
Constantly the focus of the opposition, James is constantly dealing with overly aggressive double and triple teams – so frustrating that at times he can lose his cool, much like he did against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night.
James knows the pressure of winning a third consecutive NBA Championship are getting to him – admitting such in a recent interview, saying that the pursuit of a three-peat has drained him mentally and physically:
"“It’s a long and grueling season for all of us, not just us because we’re the champs,” James said after fouling out for only the sixth time in his career and the first time in a regular season game since 2008. “We’ve played a lot of basketball in our four years together. It’s taken a lot of wear and tear on all our bodies. It’s mentally fatiguing. And you just try to find the motivation the best way you can as an individual and as a collective group.”"
It’s an understandable stance considering James and company will have essentially played another full season in comparison to their counterparts when you add up all the playoff games from the past few years.
Exhausted or not, the Heat are still 27-10 and near the top of the Eastern Conference standings.