CLEVELAND -- If Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue had things his way, LeBron James would leave his shot alone -- even if his teammate Kyle Korver, one of the most efficient shooters in league history, is the one helping James change his free throw form.
"I mean, I think he's a decent free throw shooter," Lue said of James before the Cavs hosted the Indiana Pacers on Monday in Game 2 of their first-round series. "I just think, don't change. You're the best player in the world, do what you do, have confidence doing it -- that's it. But he's either going to miss or make them, but don't keep changing. So what?"
After shooting a career-low 67.4 percent from the line in the regular season -- a significant dip from his 73.1 percent in 2015-16 -- James consulted with Korver leading up to the Cavs' postseason opener.
"Myself and Kyle, we kind have been brainstorming about it, how to get it to be more efficient," James said Saturday after Game 1. "I mean, honestly, Kyle is probably one of the most efficient guys we have from the free throw line on our team. So I'm a basketball mind, I'm open-minded about trying to figure out ways that can help my efficiency, so it's a good start."
James started 4-for-4 and finished 6-for-9 from the line in Game 1.
James' adjustment to his shot involves staggering his feet, with his left foot a step behind the line, and dipping the ball slightly as he sets up his shot before going into his release.
"I think, just, there's a lot of ways to shoot," Korver, a career 88.0 percent free throw shooter, said at the Cavs' shootaround Monday morning. "No one has the same form. I think when you're helping someone shoot, the thing I think about the most is how do you take things, unnecessary things, out of your shot to make it as compact and simple as possible.
"When you have a lot of motion, there's just more room for error. So that's all I ever try to help guys with. When I talk to them, I try to just take unnecessary things out of your shot. Not all guys want to hear things. I think you've got to give LeBron a lot of credit for being open to changing something. Especially now, I felt a little weird saying anything. It's not really the time. But I do think there's things that can help everybody out. It's not overly complicated."
James, who sought advice on his free throws from sharpshooter Ray Allen when they played together in Miami and is known to study game film from when his shot was in a good rhythm to tweak his shooting stroke, acknowledged his struggles from the line back in March.
"It's killing me," he said. "It's killing me. Yeah, it's killing me, it's killing me. Can't have everything. Everything else is creeping up, and that's taking a step down. But I'll be fine for the playoffs. For the rest of the regular season, I'm going to end up shooting in the 60s, which is a career low for me, but the postseason, I'll be up there in the 80s."
It does not appear that James will heed his coach's advice. The changes are here to stay -- until he tries out a different adjustment, that is.
"It's a routine we're going to stick with," James said.