LeBron James: 'Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving injuries were costly'

LeBron James has claimed that the Cleveland Cavaliers would have had a "better shot" of winning the NBA Finals had Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love been fit.

Irving sustained a knee injury in game one of the Finals, while Love suffered a dislocated shoulder earlier in the playoffs, which ruled both All-Stars out of their matches against the Golden State Warriors.

The Cavs held a 2-1 lead in the Finals due to a series of fine performances from James, but the Warriors' quality proved too much for David Blatt's men to overcome as they achieved a 4-2 victory.

"If we had our two All-Stars in the lineup it gives us a better shot," James told Bleacher Report Radio. "Does it say we're gonna win the championship?

"[It] does not. You've still got to go out on the floor and play the game, but it definitely gives us a much better shot than we had."

James averaged 35.8 points in the six games of the Finals.