The Cleveland Cavaliers have dropped three straight and LeBron James is not happy about it. After last night’s loss to the Chicago Bulls, LeBron made his frustration known.
“The honeymoon stage is over. There is your headline,” James told reporters after the game. “We got to man up. Everybody.”
He included himself in the assessment as well. Although he put together a great individual performance with 27 points, 13 assists and 5 rebounds, he committed eight turnovers and had no free throw shots which most likely added to his frustration. His runningmates, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, went 14 for 35 combined in field goal attempts, while defensively, it seemed that Chicago was able to get the majority of the shots they wanted the entire game.
Over the last three games, Cleveland has allowed 176 points in the paint. Kevin Love accepted the blame saying:
“I was bad,” Love said. “I mean, just getting to those different rotations and being locked in. We needed to be more in tune with what we’re trying to do and have that next man up mentality.”
Taj Gibson benefited from the Cavs defense (or lack thereof) in the paint scoring 23 points on 10 of 13 while snagging 11 boards.
The Cavaliers started the season 13-2, a 3 game skid this early in the season for anyone else would be no big deal. But, the Cavaliers are a team with the aspirations to repeat as champions and is home to the best player on the planet, they operate in a different universe when it comes to the level of attention.
We will see how LeBron and Co respond when they face off against the Toronto Raptors Monday December 5th at 7:30 PM/
