MILWAUKEE, Wis. - As determined as ever, LeBron James says he and his revived back are primed to shoulder the load for what the Cleveland Cavaliers hope is another deep postseason run.

James told cleveland.com before shootaround this morning in advance of tonight's game against the Milwaukee Bucks that for the first time in approximately half a decade, he has gone the entire season without experiencing lower back complications.

Aside from the anti-inflammatory shot he received during training camp, his back has not required any further assistance. James and his personal trainer Mike Mancias have focused more on pinpoint strength exercises, which have contributed to his resurgence.

"Last year, I was bothered by the way my body was feeling," James said. "Obviously I sat out those two weeks, sitting out the most games in one season in my career -- and I'm not a guy who likes to sit out games, especially for injuries. That was definitely a turning point for me."

With the Cavaliers having been so inconsistent in the last month and a half, you'd have to believe at some point they'll need James to anchor this team in an outright do-it-all fashion -- not just the typical triple-double numbers, but maybe even playing some center and taking a bigger chunk of the point-guard duties.

Seeing how he proclaims his back is back, the opportune time is soon approaching and it will test the capacity he can tolerate.

"I've heard of carrying the weight on your shoulders, but the back?" James asked of my analogy. I said yes, get ready to carry this team on your shoulders and your back. He laughed and just shrugged his shoulders.

The Eastern Conference is vastly improved from a year ago. Even with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love healthy, this team isn't where it was last year. Or maybe it is, but the rest of the conference has simply caught up.

While missing two-thirds of The Big Three in The Finals last June, James poured out everything he had and exhausted himself for a postseason average of 30.1 points, 11.3 rebounds and 8.5 assists.

Take into consideration that his body wasn't in the condition it's at now.

"I felt OK last year in the postseason and pretty good going into it," he said. "I was able to help our team get to a place where we wanted to get to. We were not able to close the deal, but for this year, I'm looking forward to doing the same thing: leading these guys throughout the postseason and seeing what happens."

You can see it in his eyes that he knows it's going to be a daunting challenge. And he's up for it like never before.

James is in a good place mentally and physically. This team will need every single minute, every second he can muster for them to reach their goal. He's always had the broad shoulders for carrying a franchise, but now at 31, he has a healthy back to go with it.

"It says a lot [that I feel so great]," James continued. "Like I said, I listened to my body last year. Going into the offseason, I changed some things that I was doing in the previous years to help better my body. I listened to a few people that felt like they could help.

"But I've just been putting in the work all season long and I've gotten better every week, every month and I feel great. It's the best I've felt in the last years. I just want to continue on the regimen I've been doing and hopefully it could go through the playoffs."