LeBron James comments on possible Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade playoff matchup

LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are in the midst of an Eastern Conference playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks, but that hasn't stopped him from thinking ahead to a potential matchup against his former team.

The Cavs, who lead the Hawks 1-0 in their best-of-seven series, could face the Miami Heat in the conference finals later this month. The Heat also lead 1-0 in their series against the Toronto Raptors.

Game 2 in the Cavs-Hawks series is Wednesday night.

Asked after Wednesday morning's shootaround if he was pondering the possibility of facing Dwyane Wade and his former team, James answered, "Naturally, of course. "That's since I've came back. It'd be great to play against those guys in the postseason.

"Throughout my whole career, I've always wanted to go against Wade in a playoff series. We've always talked about it even before we became teammates in '10. It's not been heavy on my mind, but it's crossed my mind throughout my whole career."

James and Wade won two NBA titles together with the Heat and went to the NBA Finals four straight years from 2011 to 2014.

Now in his second season with the Cavs since he returned in 2014, James is just 4-5 against the Heat during the regular season.

James said he was inspired by Wade's effort in the final game of a first-round series against the Charlotte Hornets and in the series opener against Toronto on Tuesday night.

"Any time one of my best friends is able to go out there and perform the way he performs, it's definitely motivating," James said. "I was looking forward to Game 1 after watching him in Game 6, you know, the way he was able to close that game out. They all gritted last night. Not only Miami, but Toronto. It was a slugfest watching that game and they were able to pull it out as well."