LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers were the only team in the Eastern Conference to sweep their first-round opponent, closing out the Indiana Pacers on the road.
That's exactly how LeBron likes it, too. While home court advantage is all the rage to debate, James spoke to media following Cavaliers practice Friday and made an interesting revelation: he prefers playing on the road in the playoffs.
That's when the fans are at their peak, the stakes are as high as possible and the environment is as hostile as its ever been. That's exactly why James prefers going into opposing kingdoms to take them over as his own.
"I just like the adversity of the road. Home cooking is great, love the home fans for 14 years. But I love playing out on the road more than I love playing at home. It's just a weird thing. I love the adversity," James said, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
"I love the 'Tonight is not the night' LeBron slogans. I love the 'You're overrated' and all those things. I like all that. I don't know, man. It's the bunker mentality of knowing it's 15 guys plus the coaching staff and whoever there that's traveled with us against the whole state and the whole city."
Some like the pressure of having their back against the wall, the odds stacked against and the world doubting them. Winning crucial playoff games on the road help create legacies, and silencing the hissing crowd only adds to the drama of the NBA Playoffs.
James and the Cavaliers will be serving from home most of the playoffs as the No. 2 seed, but they've gone undefeated on the road in the postseason thus far. Their next opponent will take them even further, crossing the border to Canada to face the Toronto Raptors.
The teams faced off last year as well, with the Cavaliers closing things out in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals on the road. Cleveland swept their first two opponents before losing two games - both on the road ironically - to Toronto.
Their new series begins Monday in Cleveland, so James will have to hang tight and handle business at home before he gleefully sucks the venom out of the fans of opposing fans once again. Let's not forget that Game 7 last year was in Golden State.
Opposing fans, remember the chants, boos and hate slung toward LeBron is only going to fuel him. Perhaps that's the trick; keep it neutral to throw him off his game.