ORLANDO, Fla. _ LeBron James doesn't quite know what to expect from this playoff run, but he does know one thing.
"It's probably going to be one of _ probably the toughest one," James said. "It's the toughest championship run for me personally. From the circumstances of just being in here."
It starts Tuesday night with Game 1 of the first-round series between the Los Angeles Lakers, the top seed in the Western Conference, and the Portland Trail Blazers, who qualified as the eighth seed by winning a play-in game Saturday.
Before joining the Lakers for the 2018-19 season, James had been to the playoffs in 13 consecutive seasons with eight straight appearances in the NBA Finals. Last season he suffered a groin injury on Christmas that kept him out for five weeks and severely hampered the Lakers' playoff hopes.
During his media session Monday, James balked at the suggestion that it had been a "long time" since he had been to the playoffs.
"It's not that long," he said, gravely.
The question then pivoted to whether James took for granted playing in the postseason.
"I don't take anything for granted," James said. "I live life, every day I maximize that day. I don't take anything for granted. Because at the end of the day, I know where I come from, I know what I stand for, so I don't take anything for granted, especially being in my 17th season. I don't go into any season saying, 'OK, playoffs, playoffs, championship, championship.' I just am all about the process."
As promised, as soon as he found out the Trail Blazers were the Lakers' opponent, James began to narrow his focus. He echoed what coach Frank Vogel said in calling the Trail Blazers an unusual eight seed.
"I don't think they would have been the eighth seed if they were healthy all year," James said. "And that's my mindset. I'm not going in as a one seed versus an eight seed, I'm going in with it's the Lakers versus Portland. So, I've already thrown that out of the window so I won't be going in with my guard down."
