NEW YORK: With 10 games left in the regular season, the Cavaliers have managed to coast to a division title, a 50-win season and the top record in the East (barely) without ever learning how to consistently play a complete game more than once a week.
It is both a testament to their talent and an indictment on their attitude and focus. Coach Tyronn Lue tried warning his players to take the Brooklyn Nets seriously, calling them a dangerous team despite their second-worst record in the East.
Instead, the Nets on Thursday became the latest in a growing line of underwhelming teams to beat the Cavs.
“A lot of times when you look at a team’s record or you come in and not respect your opponent like we should, things like this happen,” Lue said. “We want to try and pick it up and compete when it’s too late.”
The growing fear is that will apply to the postseason, too.
Lue had a talk with LeBron James after the Cavs’ embarrassing loss last weekend at the Miami Heat. Neither wanted to divulge specifics of the conversation, although Cleveland.com reported it was to address James’ on-court behavior with Dwyane Wade during and after the game. Within that meeting, however, James also came to the understanding he needed to do even more.
That was about the time he unfollowed a number of media members on his Twitter account, including the Cavs’ official account, and began entering his playoff mindset a little earlier than normal. The Cavs responded with consecutive wins against sub-.500 teams before falling flat at Brooklyn.
James was terrific against the Nets, making his first 10 shots and scoring 30 points, although he went scoreless in the fourth quarter when he took only two shots. In his last three games, James is averaging 29.6 points and shooting nearly 60 percent from the floor.
At least on the court, James isn’t the problem lately. Kevin Love is shooting 25 percent from 3-point range during March and the numbers indicate the Cavs are better when he’s off the floor. They blew out three teams this month by an average of 23.3 points on nights Love didn’t play — although the opponents were the Nuggets, Lakers and Wizards, hardly three powerhouses.
Kyrie Irving, Love, Iman Shumpert and James have all struggled badly with 3-point shooting this season. The only consistent shooters this season have been J.R. Smith, Matthew Dellavedova and Channing Frye. When those three are struggling to make shots, as they were Thursday, it makes it difficult for the Cavs to win.
As the games tick away and the postseason approaches, James is preaching the same message he has since arriving last season: Embrace the moment. No one seems to be listening.
“What bothers me is our effort sometimes and making sure our guys are understanding the moment that we have,” James said. “That is the only time that I can get a little frustrated because I understand the moment that we have. It is not given that every year you have a team like this where you have an opportunity to do something special.”
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.