Richard Jefferson says LeBron James was ill in Game 3

LeBron James had a bad, and almost indifferent, performance in Game 3 against the Celtics. Now, a teammate has offered a reason.

For the first half of Tuesday night’s Game 4 against the Boston Celtics, LeBron James carried over his bad performance from a surprising Game 3 loss. Picking up four fouls played a role, but James rebounded with 24 second half points Tuesday night to help spur the Cavaliers to a win.

But James’s Game 3 performance, with 11 points (4-of-13 shooting), six assists, six rebounds and six turnovers, remained a mystery beyond simply deferring to teammates or underestimating the Celtics.

After Game 4, speaking to Fox Sports Ohio, teammate Richard Jefferson attempted to explain James’ dismal showing in Game 3.

"I know he won’t talk about it, so I’ll give my big guy a shout. Deron Williams missed shoot around this morning because he had like a little bug, really lethargic, had no energy. And I think that’s what ‘Bron had. And sometimes these little bugs can go around. And [James] was like, dude when Deron didn’t show up to shoot around, it kind of started clicking in his head. Because for him it was like, ‘I don’t know why I was so lethargic, why I had no energy, I had nothing.’ And so, these little things happen. [There] was no panic. Look, he was lethargic, they hit a bunch of tough shots, if Marcus Smart doesn’t go 7-for-10 from three, then we’re not even talking about it.”"

Here’s the video clip.

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It’s fine for Jefferson to defend James, who surely doesn’t want to offer an illness as the primary excuse for a bad performance. But it is convenient for it to come out after the Cavaliers took back control of the series with a win in Game 4, and Jefferson to basically offer himself as the mouthpiece to make it public. But if the Cavaliers go the NBA Finals and win another title, James’ bad game will fade from memory quickly.