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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS v WARRIORSJune 18, 2016Richard JeffersonOakland, California: Practice Day Q. Has LeBron shared any thoughts about what a Finals Game 7 will be like? RICHARD JEFFERSON: It's one more game. We've been facing elimination the last two games, so this game is no different than the last two. If anything, this is the first time that they are going to be a different team because they're facing elimination. They faced it obviously in the Western Conference Finals, but they're facing elimination now. We look at it from the perspective that we've got nothing to lose. They were the best regular-season team in history. They are the defending champions. It's Game 7, it's on their floor and they were up 3-1. No one picked us to win the series. We're not favored to win this game. And I'm not playing the underdog role; I'm just putting everything under the microscope and saying that we're in a position to play free and play hard. If we lose this game, no one's going to be talking about anything on our side. If we win this game, people are going to be talking a lot more about the Golden State Warriors and what they do. Q. Have you thought of the magnitude of this game? RICHARD JEFFERSON: You're enjoying it, but it's tough because we've been in a high-stress situation, being down 0-2, getting that first [win] and going down 3-1. There hasn't been a lot of time to kind of sit back and look around. We'll get an opportunity, when the game is over tomorrow, to evaluate everything that's happened this year and especially in this series. Q. Can you comment on what winning this would mean to the city? RICHARD JEFFERSON: Yeah, and the thing that I've been so fortunate about, my first seven years I was with one team and we kind of got things started out there. We really established ourselves as a group. And then going on to different teams -- I've been in Dallas, San Antonio, played here in Golden State, been in Utah. I've been able to experience so many different fan bases, so many different struggles and successes. To be in Cleveland, to be around them and see, even when we were down 3-1, it was eerie how optimistic they were. It really was. It was the messages and, "We believe in you guys, keep going; regardless of what's happened, we're just so proud of you." You're just like, "Where are those pissed-off fans from New Jersey that I grew up watching, those pissed-off New Yorker fans?" (Laughing). It's just a different mentality. It's something that's very encouraging to be a part of that and know that, hey, these guys have our back. We firmly believe that if we win Game 5, we go to 7. That was always our mentality. If we win Game 5, we go to 7. We had to win one here. Here we are at Game 7, and anything can happen. We've got two of the best players on the planet on our side. They have two of the best on theirs. We have two great coaches and you've got a lot of support players that can impact the game on a high level -- Harrison Barnes, Barbosa, Livingston, J.R. [Smith], Tristan, Kevin [Love]. We've got a lot of guys that can do a lot of different things. So it's going to be whoever plays best in this one-game situation. Q. Anything that you didn't know or were surprised about when you came to the team about LeBron in terms of how he handles himself on or off the court? RICHARD JEFFERSON: No. Even being at a distance, you don't get to his level without a certain amount of work ethic or professionalism and approach to the game. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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