LeBron James says he felt his best in the Cavaliers’ past three games

Good news, everyone! LeBron James has felt better in the past three games than he has all season. James sat out eight games with lingering back and knee soreness, during which time the Cavaliers won a single contest. In LeBron’s first three games back, on the road against the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers, he averaged 33.7 points and 7.7 rebounds on 52 percent shooting. The Cavs went 1-2 in those games, losing to Phoenix and sweeping the L.A. teams. LeBron says that the time off helped him return to form.

From Jeremy Fowler’s ESPN story:

“I know, for me personally, [the two-week layoff] helped me out a lot,” said James, whose Cavs play the Bulls on Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET. “I’ve felt better in the last three games than I did the whole season, the whole 30-plus games that I appeared in. We’ve had a 2-1 record since I’ve been back, so hopefully we can continue on that path.”

The Cavs are still dealing with injury issues, and are not at full strength even with James looking springy. Iman Shumpert is still convalescing from his separated shoulder injury, though he has participated in practices recently and may see game action soon. Anderson Varejao is done for the year, and Kevin Love’s back isn’t right.

Head coach David Blatt called LeBron’s play at the end of the road trip “outstanding,” though both coach and player were hesitant to ascribe too much meaning to a brief hot spell.

“We’re starting to pick it up and guys are starting to get healthy, so I’m looking forward to seeing what we can become up until the All-Star break and even more than that,” James said.

Blatt called the road trip a successful one despite the win total because “we made progress.” James wouldn’t go that far, saying “no, no” when asked about whether the trip was a success. But James admits he was excited about how the Cavs competed.

“It’s a long season, and those two games don’t make or break a season but they were confidence-builders,” Blatt said.

The Cavs face the Bulls tonight at home. The game will be broadcast on TNT.