So how exactly does a LeBron triple double, plus a 49-point Kryrie outting, plus a 22 and 16 game from Love equal a Cavaliers loss? Not to mention that the loss came to a well under .500 team without their star player.
It seems like LeBron James has the answers to these questions. He called their team very top-heavy and that’s a hard statement to argue with after their most recent loss to the Pelicans. The only significant scoring contribution outside of the team’s big three was Iman Shumpert who scored 10 points. Apart from those four, only 25 points were scored between the other five players who played.
It’s encouraging to see Shumpert scoring in double figures each of the last five games, but now the other Cavalier role players need to follow his lead. But can they?
It’s easier said than done, and LeBron knows this. That’s why he’s voicing the need for the team to keep building. When a guy is saying things like “we’re top-heavy”, “we need a playmaker”, and it’s tough “when you don’t have bodies”, there’s little room for misunderstanding.
Not having bodies doesn’t imply that the players you have need to step up. It means you flat out don’t have guys with the ability to do what needs to be done. He’s even named dropped guys he would like management to get such as Raymond Felton and Michael Beasley.
The only clarifying LeBron has had to do with his comments is assure us that he’s not upset with management. His message on the other hand needed no such explanation.
He’s even alluded to the fact that his time, and more importantly his prime, are running out. Bringing to people’s attention that he will be 33 years old in December and doesn’t have time to wait is almost like a cry for help. Not a cry from someone who is hopeless, but of someone fully aware of his situation.
LeBron may have even taken a bit of a jab at his teammates determination to repeat by emphasizing “if that’s what we want to do”, when talking about winning a championship. Although he didn’t call anyone out, and specifically said he wasn’t, LeBron definitely showed some of his teammates up on the floor in New Orleans. Those teammates can’t be to blame for all six of his turnovers in the game.
But maybe there’s something more to this story. The Cavs have thrived when faced with adversity. Look at their entire season last year for example. Coach gets fired in the middle of the year, Love trade talks are still swirling, and then they find themselves down 3-1 in the finals.
Maybe they needed this adversity and LeBron knew it. I’m not saying his statements were made for nothing more than a publicity stunt to get his team going. I think he meant every word he said, but you think he hasn’t had similar thoughts at some point every year?
To me the timing of these comments come from the fact that he knows his guys need something extra to get them going. LeBron can motivate or decimate his teammates in the locker room any way he wants and at some point, it will turn into a broken record. Hearing the questions and accusations from a different voice, the media, digs at a player in a much different way.
When it’s a teammate pointing problems out the problems still haven’t left the locker room. Once the issues escape the locker room and everyone in the world knows that a change is needed on the team, player reactions are going to be a heck of a lot different. Guys will be playing for their jobs, minutes, and more importantly, a title.
We will have to wait and see how the King’s comments will effect his teammates and if any moves will be made. I’d bet on Cleveland making an accusation or two before the deadline. I’d also bet on them coming out of this January slide very soon.
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