With a 11-4 record, the Cleveland Cavaliers are the best team in the East. They are winning despite the absence of their starting backcourt, Iman Shumpert and Kyrie Irving who are both injured. Kevin Love seems to be more comfortable in his role and is playing like an All-Star, averaging 19.5 points and 11.8 rebounds. And the Cavs of course are led by LeBron James.
Yet Cleveland at times has been inconsistent, especially on the road. And after losing to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday to bring their road record to 3-4, James and veteran James Jones held a players-only meeting to call out the team's "inconsistent play."
From ESPN's Dave McMenamin:
Following a 103-99 road loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, the Cleveland Cavaliers held a players-only meeting during which LeBron James and James Jones got on the team for its inconsistent play through the Cavs' 11-4 start to the season, multiple sources told ESPN.com.
"It's all mindset," James said after the game, still visibly frustrated. "It comes from within. I've always had it; my upbringing had me like that. It's either you got it or you don't."
When asked whether fatigue was a factor, James said, "No. It's not an excuse." When another reporter asked whether injuries were to blame, James repeated, "It's not an excuse."
"It's indicative of how we've been playing all year," Jones told ESPN.com. "We haven't been consistent. We haven't been playing to the level of physicality and with the sense of urgency that we need to, that we set out to maintain."
"It's a focus, it's a mentality that we have that we put on display sporadically, but it's something that we have to do consistently," Jones said. "No coach, no scheme, no nothing can do that. It's us as players making that decision to do it every single time out."
You may be thinking that a players-only meeting is not needed because it's only one game and the Cavs should just move on after taking a deep breath. But this type of focused mentality is what James has been preaching to his teammates all season.
The Cavs are skipping starting lineup introductions to concentrate on their game plan and are even taking to the court well before their opponents are ready. As the leader of the Cavs, James wants his teammates to always be thinking of the bigger picture - a return trip to the NBA Finals. So he is trying to correct any mistakes that the team may have now rather than later.
A players-only meeting may be a bit overboard for the best team in the East but James is not messing around this season. James wants to bring a championship to Northeast Ohio and is reminding his teammates of this goal every chance he gets.
