Richard Jefferson Had A Perfectly Good Explanation For LeBron James’ Game 3 Performance

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Richard Jefferson says he knows exactly what was wrong with LeBron James in Game 3. The Cleveland Cavaliers forward claimed recently that what happened to the Cavaliers star has a lot to do with Deron Williams.

Jefferson said on Fox Sports Ohio on Thursday that James’ disappointing Game 3 performance on Sunday night wasn’t just about him having an off night.

“I know he won’t talk about it, so I’ll give my big guy a shout: Deron Williams missed shootaround 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 he’s like, dude when Deron didn’t show up to shoot around, it kind of started clicking in his head.”

Jefferson explained why it wasn’t something LeBron told anyone else: he didn’t realize it until afterwards, when the bug spread a bit further.

“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. It 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.”

Whatever bug the Cavaliers are going through, it didn’t matter on Tuesday night. James bounced back from an 11-point Game 3 showing, and Kyrie Irving lowered the boom on the Celtics to make it a 3-1 series lead for Cleveland.

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