The Cleveland Cavaliers has struggled since an encouraging four-game spurt following the trade deadline, going a mere 4-6 since and falling further away from catching the Boson Celtics for second place in the East.
Sunday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers proved perhaps the most disappointing, dropping a game against a team way out of playoff contention.
LeBron James, for one, wasn’t happy with the team’s performance and refused to make excuses due to the myriad of injuries plaguing the team in recent weeks, including power forward Kevin Love.
“I’ll never accept a loss,” James said following the Cavs’ 127-113 loss to the Lakers, according to Chris Anderson of Cleveland 19 TV. “It’s not in my DNA.”
The Cavs’ have fallen off the top of the East considerably, but have failed to emerge as a rejuvenated team, still struggling to assemble the pieces prior to this playoff run.
“Sometimes you just can’t overcome this many injuries that we have,” James said. He added, “It was next man up, but sometimes, you just fall short.”
James and the Cavs find themselves seven games behind the Celtics, who already clinched a playoff spot in the East, while sitting 10.5 games behind the East-leading Toronto Raptors — two teams that can prove to be tough contenders come playoff time.
The King has remained committed to propelling this revamped roster, but a lot of it would have to wait until Love’s impending return, who will provide a serious scoring punch as the second scoring option of this team.