One would think that the Cleveland Cavaliers would get the message the first time LeBron James tells them to play with urgency, but after a disheartening loss to the Detroit Pistons, James found himself once more criticizing his team for a perceived lack of effort. As Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com reports, James thinks his team isn’t hungry enough, certainly not as hungry as the Golden State Warriors, who beat the Cavs in the Finals last year.
“We haven’t done anything,” James said, following the Cavaliers’ 104-99 loss to the Detroit Pistons, Cleveland’s second-consecutive loss and third this season. “We didn’t win anything. We lost. We lost in the Finals. So, that’s enough motivation for myself. I think we need to understand that.
“Like, we lost in the Finals. We didn’t win. And the team that beat us looks more hungry than we are. So it shouldn’t be that way.”
This is the second time in as many games that LeBron has called out his teammates’ effort. When the Cavs lost to the Bucks in double-overtime, LeBron said his team was very good, but not great, and kept trying to just “turn it on” instead of playing with maximum effort for the entire game.
It may seem a bit harsh for LeBron to rip into his team twice in a row, especially when they’re just the second and third losses of the season, but the early season is the perfect time to nip perceived attitude problems in the bud. Far better to have these issues now and address them right away than let them fester throughout the season. The Cavaliers are going to be fine, and will have no problem making it to the Eastern Conference Finals. James doesn’t want to have to wait until that time for his team to have the necessary ruthless mentality.
(Via Cleveland.com)
