How LeBron James And The Cleveland Cavaliers Could Lose NBA Finals

We've seen LeBron James sweat, but not like this.

James has had to put the Cleveland Cavilers on his back as his all-star duo of Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving — especially Irving — have not been playing their best basketball. Because of this, he's spending extra energy on offense and defense respectively. At some points, it even looks he has run out of steam.

During the latter part of Game 2, the camera crew focused on a very drained James who huffed and puffed as he made his way over to the team’s bench.

READ: NBA Finals 2017: Kevin Durant Favored To Win MVP, Stephen Curry And LeBron James In Contention

The media spoke to him on Wednesday about him appearing to be tired, which he confidently shrugged off. He claimed guarding Golden State’s Kevin Durant wasn’t making him tired.

“Do I look tired? I’m averaging a triple double in the finals, I’m pretty good I would think,” he said.

Yes, James, you look tired.

James is the type of person who would never show his mortality, so he would never admit outright that he’s out of gas — even though the numbers offer up an entirely different story. His first half stats compared to the second half revealed a player who wasn’t driving to the rim as frequently.

READ: Will LeBron James And Cavaliers Lose? Why The Warriors Could Win NBA Finals

James is averaging 28.5 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists over the first two games of the Finals. Game 3 will air at 9 p.m. EDT tonight.

Based on numbers gathered by ESPN, James did not drive to the basket in the first half of Game 2, compared to five drives in the first half. After killing it the first half of Game 2, James made no drives to the rim and only led a fast break attempt three times during the second half of Game 2 — a sure sign of exhaustion.

Just like the last finals, the Warriors took the first two games. James was the only player between both teams who lead in all five statistical categories (points, rebounds, blocks, steals and assists) which earned the Cavs a title in seven games.

Notably, Durant was not in a Warriors uniform last season. He's already dropped 71 — though not all were against James. The player Durant interchanged with from last season, Harrison Barnes, scored only 65 points during the 2016 Finals.

"Durant's a tough cover," Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said Tuesday. "Just like LeBron started on him to set the tone early, try to bring a physicality to him. And then after that, we got to put other guys on him so LeBron can get his rest. We ask him to score, score the basketball, pass the basketball. So, with Shump on him, with R.J. on him, just try to give him different looks."

James is the most threatening in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. And when he’s fatigued from picking up the slack for his team, he's just a shell of himself. His exhaustion is one of the biggest reasons why the Golden State Warriors have been on cruise control thus far.