CLEVELAND — It had been 1,802 days since LeBron James last appeared in uniform for a playoff game as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. So the energy inside Quicken Loans Arena on Sunday afternoon was almost volcanic during warm-ups. The building practically shook when James’s name was announced before the tip.
It was another homecoming — the playoff homecoming — in a career now officially full of them for James, who was raised in Akron, Ohio. And when the Cavaliers strode onto the court for Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics, James wore the determined look of a welder.