Tyronn Lue Says The Cavaliers Should Be Embarrassed By How They’ve Been Playing


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The post-Kyrie Irving trade Cleveland Cavaliers are struggling to find their identity. They currently sit at 4-6 early in the 2017-18 NBA season, and while that record isn’t nearly as bad as the panic level would suggest, they aren’t doing most things well. Losses to mediocre-at-best teams like the Magic, Pacers, Nets, Knicks, and Hawks have only highlighted their on-court issues.

The Cavaliers’ 117-115 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday was seemingly the straw that broke the camels back. After the game was over, Channing Fry told the media that his team sucked. Dwyane Wade put a lot of the blame on the starting units shoulders. Tyronn Lue had some sort of bizarre silver ring fly out of his mouth, and while that doesn’t account for Cleveland’s dysfunction, it happened vs. Atlanta and is one of the more mesmerizing videos to come out of the NBA this season.

If the Cavaliers have anything to look forward to, it’s that Isaiah Thomas is reportedly gearing up for his debut with the Cavaliers ahead of schedule. According to Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon, Thomas’ timetable for a return to the court “seems to be accelerating” and that is excellent news so long as he isn’t pushing himself because the Cavaliers need him. Thomas’ hip injury is not something he’d be smart to rush back from.

On Monday, coach Tyronn Lue met with the media after practice and revealed how the Cleveland locker room is feeling after Sunday’s loss to the Hawks. According to Lue, everyone on the roster is feeling what you’d expect the reigning champs to feel when losing to teams like the Hawks and Nets.

“I think guys are embarrassed, and they should be embarrassed about how we’ve been beaten, and the teams we’re playing. Having guys out, key guys out, and still not being able to win, so, we all just need to continue to keep searching, and continue to keep fighting, and continue to play hard.”

You could argue that how the Cavaliers have reacted to their slow start is more embarrassing than the slow start itself, but Lue is right when he says the team should be embarrassed. With LeBron James still in his prime and Isaiah Thomas returning at some point this season, you have to believe that their on-court issues will improve, but if they let these losses chip away at their team chemistry like the aftermath of the Hawks loss might suggest is happening, then there may be no returning from that damage.

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