The Cleveland Cavaliers held a players-only meeting after a 29-point loss Wednesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves and the guys "confronted each other," according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst.
Cavaliers held ‘contentious’ players only meeting, according to report
The 3-7 Cleveland Cavaliers are struggling and tempers are flaring.
Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
The Cavaliers have lost three games in a row and are just 3-7 through 10 games. That type of slow start wasn’t expected for a team that was thought to fight for a playoff spot.
The team has played solid defense thus far, ranking at No. 13 in defensive efficiency, but the offense is the second worst in the NBA, via Basketball-Reference.
Some of that has to do with star point guard Kyrie Irving's early struggles. Irving is scoring three fewer points than he did last season on a career worst 32 percent from three-point range. He's also firing up more threes per game (5.1) than ever before.
He took to Twitter after Cleveland's 86-80 loss to the Bobcats on Friday:
"Tough times don't last, but tough people do" #keepmovingforward
— Kyrie Irving (@KyrieIrving) November 16, 2013
The team as a whole has struggled out of the gate. The Cavs are scoring 91.5 points per game but give up nearly 100, the second worst point differential in the league. Their next game is Saturday in Washington.
Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio added to Windhort’s reporting:
Confrontation between Cavs players reported by ESPN involved Dion Waiters, source says. Waiters sat out last night, didn't travel today.
— Sam Amico (@SamAmicoFSO) November 16, 2013
SB Nation’s Cavalier blog, Fear The Sword, added to the conversation:
And that is where we are with the Cavaliers heading to Washington to take on John Wall, Brad Beal and Nene. Dion Waiters isn't traveling with the team and we still don't know why. We know Waiters had chafed a bit at his role and wanted more shots, but after talking with his agent had come down off of that position. We know Waiters was involved in a confrontation, but we don't know who else it involved. We know Waiters isn't going to Washington, don't know why.
Waiters is scoring 1.4 points less than he did last year and his field goal percentage has taken a dip. His three-point percentage is, however, up a full 10 percent (41.4) and he’s slightly improved on the boards.
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