It’s no surprise that things are less than ideal in Cleveland right now. The Cavaliers have lost control of the 1-seed in the East, partly because the team’s defense has looked like a disaster over the last month. LeBron James has even gone as far as to call the Cavaliers’ campaign “challenging,” noting that injuries and roster turnover has made their title defense difficult.
For Kyrie Irving, there is one person who could do a whole lot more to help the team: himself. After the Cavaliers lost to San Antonio earlier this week, Irving and James reportedly had an “extended and emotional conversation,” according to ESPN. On Wednesday, Irving met with reporters and told them about the standard he needs to try and meet.
“I had to face it, had to face the music,” Irving said. “I think we all had to do it. But me more importantly, I had to look in the mirror and just wasn’t doing enough. I need to demand more out of myself and do it at a high level.”
It seems like Irving got that message, as he didn’t hold back while discussing how much he needs to demand out of himself, and how he needs to lead the team.
“You can’t rely in just thinking that one championship is enough,” Irving said. “It’s natural for human beings to just get comfortable. To rely on just having won a championship. But if you a muthaf*cka you want two, you want three, you want four, like you say you do. And I want more. I’m going to go take it. My job as one of the leaders on the team is to bring my guys with me.”
Cleveland’s road to the title is going to be harder than last year – between their struggles and the fact that the top of the Eastern Conference is really good, the Cavaliers need to be firing on all cylinders to just get to the Finals. They’re going to need Irving to be at his best, and the good news for the team is that he seems to agree that he needs to get better.
(Via ESPN)
