The Cleveland Cavaliers were at a loss after suffering a historic defeat at the hands of a shorthanded Los Angeles Clippers team, playing without their best player, Kawhi Leonard.
Andre Drummond, the Cavs’ new acquisition, took it upon his own hands to speak up after an embarrassing 133-92 loss at home, marking the 12th straight defeat at Quicken Loans Arena.
“I said, ‘I don’t care about the record. I don’t care about the scoreboard. I just care about did we get better today?‘” said Drummond, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “Obviously we are not going to win every game the rest of the way, but our goal is to win some games. We’re not going to sit down and allow teams to blow us out. We are going to play to the best of our ability each and every night.’ My goal is to push these guys and keep them positive and just continue to work hard. We show no quit.”
The Cavs looked like the shell of a team against a team that had just had a big-time slap in the face at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday. Instead of capitalizing on that shellshock, the Cavs caved — making Drummond’s debut with the team one he won’t want to remember.
The veteran center, however, took it upon himself to speak his mind after urges from his new teammates.
“I think the team really just asked me to speak up,” said Drummond. “Whatever I see they tell me to say it. I’m not trying to step on anybody’s toes or take anybody’s shine or anything like that. If someone asks a question, I do a really good job of responding back and giving my insight of what I think.
Maybe this tough loss serves to establish Drummond as a leader of an otherwise leaderless locker room — something the team can use to build its future.