Cleveland Cavaliers: Lessons from the Cavs Game 4 season finale

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CLEVELAND, OH – JUNE 8: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers handles the ball against the Golden State Warriors during Game Four of the 2018 NBA Finals on June 8, 2018 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /

LeBron played the final three games with a right-hand injury.

Just when you thought Game 1’s loss couldn’t hurt anymore, we find this out. After Game 4 we learned that LeBron was playing with what he called “pretty much a broken hand” after he punched a blackboard in Oracle Arena after the Game 1 loss.

"I let the emotions get the best of me and pretty much played the last three games with a broken hand."

-@KingJames (via @NBATV) pic.twitter.com/EGV3HGCrls
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) June 9, 2018

This explains why he never looked comfortable shooting the ball and missed some layups we normally see him finish. He ended up shooting just 8 for 27 outside of the restricted area after Game 1.

Despite the injury, he still shot 49.2% from the field and averaged 28.3 points per game after Game 1 despite Golden State collapsing the paint every time he drove.

While James should have kept his cool and not punched a blackboard, it’s easy to understand his frustration with the situation.

Unfortunately for us, we’ll always be left wondering what James could’ve done if he hadn’t have lost his composure.