Most NBA fans assumed LeBron James and the Cavaliers would coast back to the NBA Finals this season, despite parting ways with Kyrie Irving over the summer. But through the team’s first seven games of the 2017-18 NBA season, Cleveland looks anything but a championship contender.
The Cavaliers’ season got off to a strong start on the NBA's opening night when they knocked off the Celtics, the team that was expected to give them a run for their money in the NBA Playoffs until Gordon Hayward went down with a season-ending injury during that game. However, the Cavaliers have struggled since then and lost four of their last six games, including three straight against the lowly Nets, Pelicans, and Knicks. And their last two losses haven’t been close. They lost to New Orleans by 22 on Saturday night before losing to the Knicks by 19 on Sunday night.
The loss to the Knicks was particularly puzzling because Cleveland has owned New York in recent seasons. They had beaten the Knicks ten times in a row before getting knocked off by them on Sunday. And after the game, Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue was not happy with his team or their most recent performance. He called it "unacceptable" and said some things are going to need to change—and change quickly—if Cleveland wants to right the ship.
"Tonight’s loss and the last couple are unacceptable, and the only way we’re going to be able to get out of it is to put the work in—as players, as coaches," Lue said. "And we’re going to do that…When you lose to a team the way we’ve been getting beat, it’s unacceptable…Until we get our spirits right, it’s going to be like this."
LeBron also expressed his disappointment with his team’s performance and said they’re going to need to turn things around on the defensive side of the ball if they want to avoid piling up more losses.
"Guys are just scoring at will against us," he said. "Our defense is pretty bad right now. So that’s the number one thing."
LeBron knocked his own personal performance as well. The game against the Knicks came on the 14th anniversary of his first NBA game. "I played better 14 years ago than I did tonight," he said.
But LeBron also tried to put things into perspective by telling all of the Cavaliers fans out there that they shouldn’t be too worried about the team’s early-season struggles. While losses to teams like the Nets, Pelicans, and Knicks certainly aren’t going to look good on their résumé at the end of the season, LeBron reminded everyone there’s still plenty of time to get things together.
"What is this? October?" he asked reporters. "I’m not about to go crazy over it right now. It’s too long of a season, and I’ve been a part of this too many times, so I’m the wrong guy to ask. I’m too positive right now. All it takes is a win. That’s all it takes. All it takes is a win, and then things will start feeling better, and we’ll start feeling better about ourselves. So we just need a win."
The Cavaliers have a couple days off before returning to the court on Wednesday night for a game against the Pacers. They should be able to get a win during that game, seeing as how the Pacers are expected to be one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference this season. But after watching the Cavaliers play over the last week, a win is anything but a guarantee.
