After a 113-126 loss to the Denver Nuggets loss last night, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Coach Ty Lue called the Cleveland Cavaliers toughness into question, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
LeBron James was the most outspoken on the team, being critical about how guys were not playing as a team.
“We’ve got to be more, just do more. It ain’t about no group. You can’t preach toughness. You’ve got to have it.”
Coach Lue joined in, saying it’s not just the players, but also the coaches as well.
“They came and just kicked our butt in every facet of the game,” Lue said. “Coaches, we got to be better, but players, they got to be better too. They got to be tougher. Got to [have] more urgency, and it comes from all of us. They got 3-point shots, they got points in the paint, they got offensive rebounds. They got, I mean, whatever they wanted. And we got to be better than that. It starts with the coaches, but the players got to look at themselves in the mirror too. They got to be more physical, they got to bring a physical presence, and they’ve got to take pride in guarding their man.”
In their past 10 games, the Cavaliers are 4-6, losing ground on the first seed in the Eastern Conference. The Boston Celtics are just one game behind the Cavaliers, while the Washington Wizards are 3.5 games back.
As McMenamin points out, the Cavaliers have been one of the worst teams in the league in allowing three-pointers, points in the paint, and forcing turnovers in the month of March.
LeBron hasn’t been in the greatest of moods the last couple of days, just recently telling Lavar Ball to keep his family out his mouth.
With just three weeks remaining in the season, the Cavs are focusing on getting fully healthy for a chance to repeat as champions, and are hoping the defense will figure itself out.
