Cavaliers: Sliding Cleveland not planning on any changes.
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — As LeBron James and some teammates practiced foul shots at a nearby basket, head coach Tyronn Lue addressed questions about the troubling state of the Cavaliers while sitting in a high-backed, cushioned chair.
While he was cool, Lue’s seat has warmed considerably.
With the Cavs mired in a midseason slump and less than 24 hours after a historically embarrassing loss to Oklahoma City, Lue said he has no plans to change his starting lineup or rotations. Cleveland fans might be panicking, but Lue says he’s not nervous.
The Cavs are 4-10 since Dec. 19, and in the past two weeks, they’ve lost by 28 at Minnesota, 34 at Toronto and 24 to the Thunder, who scored 148 points and tied a record for the most points allowed by Cleveland in a regulation game.
It’s a mess, and it’s a mystery the way James and the Cavs have collapsed.
“This is kind of just my experience with this team, to be honest,” said swingman Kyle Korver, acquired last January in a trade. “The year that I’ve been here, we’ve been really good and we’ve been really bad. It seems to come in waves, so, hopefully, there’s a good wave coming soon.”
With all that’s wrong, changes would seem to be in order. Lue, though, believes the Cavs can solve their problems without major alterations.
“It’s the same group we won 18 out of 19 with also,” he said, referring to Cleveland’s stretch from Nov. 11 to Dec. 17. “We’ve just got to play better. We’ve got to play better, we’ve got to be sharper and that’s what we continue to keep working on. It’s the same team that won 18 out of 19 and 13 in a row.”
Technically, Lue’s right. The Cavs’ roster hasn’t been touched.
However, the club has been in almost continuous flux over the past month as key players Isaiah Thomas and Tristan Thompson returned from injuries. Also, playing time has diminished for reserves Jose Calderon, Channing Frye and Cedi Osman, and Korver, the sharpshooter who had developed into the team’s best crunch-time player other than James, has seen his role reduced.
Lue has been searching for the right combinations, but the Cavs aren’t connecting.
“We’re riding a bad wave right now, but hopefully, we’ll find some things that will start working again,” Korver said. “Guys are getting healthier but we need to get back in sync. There are no answers right now.”
Following Saturday’s loss, James said he “would hope not” when asked if he thought Lue would be fired. Dwyane Wade dismissed any outside noise condemning the only Cleveland coach to win a major championship since 1964.
“You’ve just got to look at yourself in the mirror and say ‘What can I do better?’ ” Korver said. “You can’t point the finger. You can’t get mad at a guy for not doing what you thought he should’ve done. You just can’t point fingers. It’s really simple but it really is true . ... We’re all grown-ups. When you’re a mature grown-up, you just look at yourself in the mirror.”