The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Struggling Cavs trying to find their form
With sweat streaking down his face and into his bushy beard, LeBron James was not in a playful mood following practice.
The cold stare. The pursed lips. The focus.
This is no time for frivolity.
With Cleveland in the midst of its annual January deep freeze, a troubling stretch where losing multiplies quickly into rumors, drama and even more distractions for the NBA’s most scrutinized superstar and his teammates, the Cavaliers are being questioned again. And for good reason. While they played well for more than three quarters in a loss — their ninth in 12 games — on Jan. 15 to the defending champion Golden State Warriors, James found little to be encouraged about.
“You don’t win championships ... losing a game is not encouraging at all,” he said. “I liked the way we played in the first half. I liked the way we competed. But you get encouraged when you come out here and work when there ain’t nobody watching. I’m more encouraged on what we did today than I am in the game the other day.”
The Cavs remain a work in progress, an incomplete picture.
Maybe even a damaged one.
Their aging roster, defensive deficiencies, injuries, Isaiah Thomas’ slowand-still-uncertain comeback from a hip injury and an inability to beat the league’s elite teams have conjoined to raise doubts about whether the Cavs are still the best team in the Eastern Conference or one good enough to reach their fourth straight NBA Finals.
James,whoishavinganother MVP-caliber season, didn’t offer anyexcusesfortheteam’srecent struggles, a stretch he called a “rough patch.”
The three-time champion conceded that this season has been difficult.
“It’s been very challenging just from the simple fact of how many guys have been in and out,” he said. “This is a difficult year for our team. Seems like I say that every year, but this one has been even more challenging. It’s been very challenging on our team. But we have to figure it out. At the end of the day, we have a game every other day or every two days just like everybody else in the NBA. We have to go out and play.”
These are fascinating and frustrating days for the Cavaliers, who opened the season 5-7, ripped off 18 wins in 19 games and have gone 3-9 since Dec. 19, losing twice in that span to the Warriors, their rivals in each of the past three Finals.
Following a fourth straight loss on Jan. 15, James said he was pleased with the team’s effort.
However, the same night, some unnamed Cleveland players told several media outlets privately that there was growing concern that the Cavs’ problems might not be fixable.
Coach Tyronn Lue was aware of the reports, and joked that the comments didn’t come from any players he knows.
“I’ve seen where people said sources say and I look down the roster and I don’t see no guy named sources,” Lue said. “We’re going to be fine. The guys are putting in the work. The last couple of games have been very positive even though we lost, so things are going to be fine.”
Things are looking better.