Marla Ridenour: LeBron channels post-Finals heartbreak into motivation for championship chase

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio _ When LeBron James faced the media in the bowels of Quicken Loans Arena following a Game 6 loss to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, it seemed like a soul-searching moment for the Cavaliers star.tmpplchld As his teammates fell to injury one by one, the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player summoned every ounce of will he had left. Yet it was not enough, and falling to Golden State 4-2 in the Finals left James wondering if he would rather not make the playoffs than suffer such heartbreak.tmpplchld “It would hurt a lot easier if I just didn’t make the playoffs,” he said that June night.tmpplchld The days that followed brought more torment, James admitted Monday.tmpplchld “Every year that you lose in the Finals it gets worse and worse to get over,” James said during Cavs Media Day at Cleveland Clinic Courts.tmpplchld “I asked myself last year during the postseason ‘Would I rather not even make the playoffs or would I rather lose in the Finals?’ and it’s a very valid question,” he said. “You get all the way there and you lose and you’re like, ‘I’d like to have those two months back. I could have been somewhere laying out helping my body get better.’tmpplchld “For me I will take all the pain that comes with competing for a championship. I’ll take all the bumps and bruises that I will get when I’m done playing because I’ll know that I left it all out on the floor.”tmpplchld James almost sounded as if he’d caught a glimpse of his post-NBA future and as promising as it appears with his charitable and business endeavors, he fears the game’s toll.tmpplchld Yet the physical sacrifice accompanying James’ self-appointed challenge of ending Cleveland’s 51-year championship drought didn’t end when the Warriors celebrated on the Cavs’ home court. James said he put himself through three-a-day workouts five days a week in September to improve a part of his game he wouldn’t reveal. He confessed he could use two more months of rest before training camp opens Tuesday.tmpplchld During those three-a-days, James seemingly channeled the physical and mental pain of June and the anguish that followed.tmpplchld The hurt that worsens with every Finals failure might be the supreme motivator for the world’s best player. With his 31st birthday approaching on Dec. 30, he knows the clock is ticking, throwing in one of his “Father Time is undefeated” references.tmpplchld With all he’s taken on for the city, with all his post-Finals strife, James might never have been more motivated than he is for the 2015-16 season.tmpplchld James Jones, his teammate for four years in Miami and last season with the Cavs, understands how James felt.tmpplchld “We’re not getting younger. The older you get, the more it takes from you physically and mentally,” Jones said. “On the flip side, you realize how this life is fleeting and you probably have limited opportunities to get there. With every Finals loss, you invest more and hope that you have more in the tank hoping you can push and get back to that mountaintop and be successful. tmpplchld “It’s harder every time. It’s indescribable. You have to go through it to understand how heavy the burden of losing is. But once you come back out of it, it’s the ultimate motivator.”tmpplchld James presumably has come back out of it, although he was somewhat subdued Monday. There was no talk of championship parades, at least when he was at the podium. He said he wasn’t sure of his message to the team.tmpplchld He did almost scoff at a question about what satisfaction he took from last season. He responded with an “Uhhhh,” a soft chuckle, then cobbled together an answer about coming together as a team, sticking with the process and executing the nightly game plan.tmpplchld James sounded like he wanted to say there was no satisfaction.tmpplchld That would be how owner Dan Gilbert, second-year coach David Blatt and the other Cavaliers would hope James would feel. Last June, his disappointment, frustration and physical agony were so great that James wondered if the playoffs were even worth it.tmpplchld Three and a half months later, James still can’t find satisfaction in what to him was the ultimate failure. Imagine the game-night scowls ahead. He’s ready for the championship chase.tmpplchld ___tmpplchld ABOUT THE WRITER Marla Ridenour is a columnist for the Akron Beacon Journal.tmpplchld ___tmpplchld (c)2015 Akron Beacon Journaltmpplchld Visit Akron Beacon Journal at www.ohio.comtmpplchld Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.tmpplchld