MIAMI -- With six simple words, LeBron James explained the philosophy behind the way he now plays the game. "Ive done more and lost before." Such was the response to a question presented to him Saturday -- one day before he and the Miami Heat take on the San Antonio Spurs and try to even the NBA Finals at a game apiece -- about the perception that he needs to be more aggressive at times. It was almost as though he was waiting for such a query, because he had his answer at the ready. In short, James has put up awesome numbers in past playoffs but never got the awesome result he sought for nearly a decade until last season, when he and the Heat won a title. "When I was in Cleveland we played Orlando in the Eastern Conference finals and I think I averaged 38, 36, or whatever I averaged," James said, referring to the 2009 series where he averaged 38.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 8 assists. "I guess I should have done more in that series as well. But I cant. ... I do whats best for the team. Whats best for the team, it doesnt always result in a win." Case in point: Orlando won that series in six games. Case in point again: James had a triple-double, one of the longtime gold standards in defining an outstanding all-around basketball game, in Game 1 of these finals against the Spurs -- an 18-point, 18-rebound, 10-assist effort. But it came in a loss in which he took only 16 shots, so the second-guessing was predictable and prevalent. And on Saturday, James style of play got defended -- not just by those on his side, but also by the guy leading the other side. "Hes a grown man," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He doesnt need any of you to tell him anything. He knows more than all of you put together. He understands the game. If he makes a pass and you all think he should have shot it, or he shoots it and you think he should have made a pass, your opinions mean nothing to him, as they should not mean anything to him." James will be judged by history when he leaves the game. But for now, hes often judged against his own history. Perhaps the most memorable game of his Miami tenure was Game 6 of last seasons Eastern Conference finals at Boston, when he put up a 45-point, 15-rebound effort to simply dominate the Celtics and force a Game 7 -- which the Heat won for a trip to the NBA Finals. Its often forgotten that he scored 45 points in a playoff game at Boston once before, in what was the final game of Clevelands 2007-08 season. "The Game 6 in Boston, I mean, that was LeBron James Show," Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. "We did our job defensively, but we gave him the ball and got ... out of the way. That was the moment, us being able to go into that game and for him to perform the way he did and us being able to dominate the way we did, that was the moment I said, Yeah, were a championship team." Still, Wade was asked, isnt it unfair to expect that level of James in every game? "Well, yeah," Wade said. "But LeBron can do whatever he wants. He can control the game in any number of ways." James created a stir during this years East finals when he said he had to revert to his Cleveland way of thinking and assume more of the offensive workload. That was when Chris Bosh was struggling and Wade was particularly slowed by the right knee pain that hes battled -- unsuccessfully at times -- for about three months. After all, when he left Cleveland as a free agent after seven seasons and came to Miami in 2010, he said he wanted to be part of a better overall team that could contend every year for titles. And clearly, given that the Heat are in the finals for the third time in three seasons and have a chance to win back-to-back titles, hes gotten his wish. "I wish we could go 16-0 in the playoffs," James said. "That would be awesome. Theres challenges that come from the game. You learn from game to game in ways that you can get better. I want to win just as bad as anyone. Im going to put myself and my team in a position to win. I have to try to make the plays. I cant worry about if people are saying, You should have done more, you should have been more aggressive because you got a loss." As for whats in store for Game 2, James insists he does not know. He often has said he doesnt predetermine how hes going to play -- try to score more, pass more -- before a game and just lets the flow and what his team ultimately needs be his guide. And hes reiterated that stance between Games 1 and 2 of this series. As long as Miami wins, his stat line, he insists, will not matter. "The Spurs did a good job of shrinking the floor ... so if thats their game plan, were going to continue to exploit that," James said. "And I believe our guys will be there to knock those shots down. But theres also a few plays I could have been more aggressive as well. But Game 1, I think I improve as the series goes on as well, seeing ways I can be more aggressive from possession to possession." Spencer Dinwiddie Nets Jersey . 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The Olympic champion curler and TSN curling analyst immediately went online to look at the Halls long list of honoured members. Thats when the enormity of the honour sunk in. San Francisco Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto is slated to return to the rotation on Thursday after suffering a groin strain last week.He missed Sundays start against San Diego. On Tuesday, he threw a bullpen session, with manager Bruce Bochy even stepping into the batters box, and the left groin injury was not an issue.I was throwing everything like Im pitching in a real game, and I noticed nothing was bothering me, Cueto said, according to the Mercury News.Bochy said that Cueto will go throuugh some fielding work on Wednesday as a final check of the injury.dddddddddddd. If all goes well, he will start Thursday against the Rockies without restrictions.A healthy Cueto is key for the Giants, who are clinging to the second wild-card spot in the National League.Cueto (17-5) was forced out of his start Sept. 20 in the sixth inning because of the injury. ' ' '