LeBron calls Cavaliers “fragile” after loss to Raptors
The Cleveland Cavaliers are 5-7 after losing to the Toronto Raptors 110-93 on Saturday. Cleveland has now lost four straight games.
The ongoing challenge for LeBron James, which he has been open about in terms of having to get this team over the hump, carries on. Here were some of his remarks following Saturday’s loss via Chris Haynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer:
LeBron James says this is a fragile team.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) November 23, 2014
LeBron James says there’s players on team that tend to revert back to old habits when they go on 6-0, 4-0 runs. Again, he used “fragile.”
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) November 23, 2014
Dion Waiters admits he’s one of the guys LeBron was talking about: “Teams go on an 8-0 run…and we put our heads down. I know I do it.”
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) November 23, 2014
Part of the challenge is the transference of LeBron’s championship experience and acumen to his new teammates. That isn’t something that just happens. These growing pains are painful but certainly necessary.
But the actual personnel of this Cavaliers team is still yet to be completely filled out. Outside of Cleveland’s talent core, in terms of creating offense, there’s only Dion Waiters, and he’s having his own struggles adjusting to this standard of basketball. Toronto’s bench outscored Cleveland’s 51-19 on Saturday, which David Blatt noted among other things.
David Blatt says he has not had a losing season in his career and he will not have one here.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) November 23, 2014
David Blatt also said he’s contemplating a change to the #Cavs starting lineup.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) November 23, 2014
Joe Harris was reported to possibly be getting a shot at the starting two-guard spot for the Cavaliers, but Shawn Marion has been getting the start as of late. Blatt being a new NBA coach is a factor in this as well. Every one wins differently and he’s still adjusting to the league while his team adjusts to each other.
We’ll see if the “fragility”, and more specifically the defense improves for Cleveland as we go into the next portion of the season.