LeBron James, Erik Spoelstra address 'cramp-gate'
After LeBron James suffered cramps late in Game 1, he and Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra met the media on Friday.
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LeBron James cramped up in the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the NBA Finals as a result of an air-conditioning failure on Thursday, and the San Antonio Spurs took a 1-0 lead over the Miami Heat. A day later, it's still weird that this is an actual thing that happened. Meeting with the media at practice on Friday, James addressed the unusual event and the aftermath, which included all sorts of criticism and cheap shots from Gatorade. He said that he hydrated as much as he could, but "the body just decides to shut down," via Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
LeBron, "I'm pretty sore right now, just from the muscles spasming up."
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) June 6, 2014
LeBron James says “obviously I got no sleep” because he was using the restroom so often last night.
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) June 6, 2014
LeBron, "I have nothing to say about that sports drink group. I'm not even gonna say their name."
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) June 6, 2014
LeBron on social media chatter: "Obviously, I hear about it because people tell me about it.... I don't care."
— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) June 6, 2014
LeBron: "I'm disappointed in myself, I'm angry at myself that I couldn't help my team."
— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) June 6, 2014
LeBron: "I could have gotten myself in more trouble if I had tried to play through a cramp and I pulled something and it got worse."
— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) June 6, 2014
Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra knew what the main topic of conversation would be, too:
Spoelstra sat at podium and said, "Questions: Cramp-gate."
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) June 6, 2014
Spoelstra told reporters that the Heat would just be doing a video session after that draining game, via Winderman, and that there should be a fine if the Spurs don't sort out the air conditioning by Game 2, via Bleacher Report's Ethan Skolnick. San Antonio has already announced it has been fixed. He also addressed James at length:
Spoelstra on LeBron, "He's been doing all the hydration, intravenous fluids. He feels a lot better today."
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) June 6, 2014
Erik Spoelstra says LeBron James took seven cramping pills during Game 1
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) June 6, 2014
Spoelstra: "Last night was extreme. It's like trying to play an NBA basketball game in a hot yoga environment."
— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) June 6, 2014
Spoelstra says perhaps he could have rested LeBron more in first half. "But in an NBA Finals game, how realistic is that?"
— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) June 6, 2014
Spoelstra, on LeBron, "Look, 99.9 percentile of people have never pushed themselves to that level."
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) June 6, 2014
Spoelstra reiterates that he told LeBron "not a chance" when LeBron wanted to return.
— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) June 6, 2014
As far as off-day storylines go, this is about as interesting as it gets. This is the world's best player on the game's biggest stage. James would rather get back to basketball, though, and he said he would be in the lineup on Sunday's Game 2, which will tip off at at 8 p.m. ET.
LeBron: "No worries. You guys can talk about me as much as you want. I'll be there on Sunday. I'm not hiding."
— Joseph Goodman (@JoeGoodmanJr) June 6, 2014
