The Cleveland Cavaliers dropped their second game of the season Tuesday night to the Portland Trail Blazers, 101-82, despite a really hot start to the game. In many ways, it was a microcosm of Cleveland's season so far, as the team's overwhelming talent works to mesh and develop chemistry early in a long NBA season.
LeBron James says the Cavaliers need to grow up
King James says his teammates need to decide to play unselfishly before the team can start winning games regularly.
Steve Dykes
The Cavs hit their first 10 shots against Portland, showing that offensive dominance we’ve come to expect from a roster this talented, but the rest of the game was a mess. As quickly as Cleveland found its early rhythm, it was gone by the second quarter. Instead of rolling past the Blazers, the team has found itself in a moment of introspection.
"We have to understand what it takes to win," LeBron James said after the loss. "It's going to be a long process, man. There's been a lot of losing basketball around here for a few years. So a lot of guys that are going to help us win ultimately haven't played a lot of meaningful basketball games in our league."
James said that turning around a losing culture would be an ongoing process when he arrived in Cleveland, but many fans around the league brushed off those words in favor of hyping one of the most intriguing collections of talent in recent memory. However, LeBron’s announcement looks awfully prescient now, as both the four-time MVP and his teammates struggle to adjust to the new situation.
“There’s a lot of bad habits; a lot of bad habits have been built up over the last couple of years and when you play that style of basketball it takes a lot to get it up out of you,” James said. “But I’m here to help and that’s what it’s about.”
James hasn't helped the Cavs much so far, struggling in two of three games so far. But the bigger concern seems to stem from the backcourt. Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters, two of the big leftovers from last year's lottery team, have struggled to properly run the offense, often settling for low-efficiency shots instead of setting up the team's All-Star forwards, James and Kevin Love.
The team’s first miss against Portland came after Irving dribbled around the entire court, only to toss up a wild air ball near the rim:
For Irving, who was the definitive top option in Cleveland his first three seasons, adjusting to a more team-oriented offense has clearly been a work in progress. Several times in the game against the Blazers, he forced the issue offensively as if he wasn’t surrounded by some of the best players in the game:
And then there’s Waiters, the shooting guard. We know that he’s the shooting guard because he’s basically ditched passing from his playbook early this season. This is from the Portland game:
Dion Waiters passed the ball just five times in 27 minutes on the floor.
— Scott @ WFNY (@WFNYScott) November 5, 2014 That would be a final statistical line of 11 shots, five passes and three turnovers in the game for Waiters. He also failed to grab a rebound, and recorded four personal fouls. There’s playing a disciplined game focused on team principles, and then there’s what Waiters did.
James wouldn’t call the young duo out specifically after the game, but it wasn’t hard to glean his statements and recognize who was being targeted. What’s more intriguing, however, is that James seems to imply that he’s going to let his younger teammates work through their struggles and learn lessons the hard way.
“Everyone wants to win, I would hope,” James said. “Would you rather play selfish basketball and lose, or play unselfish basketball and sacrifice and win? So you pick it.”
That’s certainly a novel approach to the situation. Rather than aggressively try to change the style of certain players in a matter of weeks, LeBron is hoping his young guards will discover on their own the benefits of playing within the system and sharing the ball. It may lead to some games like the loss to Portland, but James seems perfectly content to let some early losing teach lessons that will bear fruit later.
It will demand patience, though, from both the players and the fans. As talented as this Cavaliers team is, they’re just the latest example of the importance of chemistry and execution in winning games. James knows that well from his time in Miami and seems willing to settle in while everyone finds their role.
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