The Cleveland Cavaliers haven’t been the most consistent regular season team in recent years and that is understandable given the way the team prioritizes playoff success over exploits in December and January. Still, there are usually stretches when the Cavs turn it on and, earlier this season, LeBron James and company rattled off 18 victories over a 19-game period to send a message to the rest of the Eastern Conference.
Since then, though, the Cavs haven’t been nearly as impressive and, currently, Cleveland is in the midst of a losing spell with six defeats in eight games. Things appear to be coming to a crescendo at the moment and, in short, the team was a complete mess in two consecutive games, losing to the Wolves by 28 points and the Raptors by a staggering 34-point margin.
Following the game, James was predictably less than thrilled and Dave McMenamin of ESPN passed along his thoughts, including that the Cavs are “in a funk” at the moment.
“We’re in a funk. Once again, we’re back to the beginning of the season. Just got to find a way to get out of it. It’s going to start with us and just everybody getting back to what we were doing when we were playing good ball. But we’re so fragile. I don’t know where it kind of went wrong or what happened to switch back, but we’ve got to try to pick it back up and find it.”
There was another headline-worthy comment from the same postgame session, with head coach Tyronn Lue saying that members of the Cavs need to “get rid of our agendas and play the right way.” With that said, it is exceedingly noteworthy when the best player on the planet flatly states that his squad is in peril and the play on the floor has been highly questionable.
Aside from the aforementioned 18-1 spurt, the Cavs are now 8-14 in other games and that, well, isn’t great. Obviously, there is no reason for full-blown panic toward a veteran-laden team led by James but Cleveland needs to flip the switch back to the “on” position. If they don’t, the whispers, however unfounded, will begin in earnest.
