Through their first seven games of the 2017-18 season, the Cleveland Cavaliers are carrying a 3-4 record. While it’s true that they are still acclimating several new faces to their rotation, this is likely not the result the Cavs were looking for in closing out the month of October.
How have the Cavs, losers of three straight games, managed to mire themselves in this funk? LeBron James believes that the starting unit and sluggish starts have been costing the team games.
“It’s been costing us the game,” James told Rick Noland of the Elyria Chronical Telegram and Medina Gazette on Sunday. “It’s the starting unit. We’ve got to figure it out someway, somehow. Guys are scoring at will”
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James, now in his 15th season of NBA service, has a good point. Defensively, the Cavs rank 27th overall, 30th in three-pointers allowed per game (13.8), and 28th in opponents’ three-point field goal percentage. Add that to the fact that Cleveland, which is allowing opposing sides an average of 114.3 points per game, has failed to hold six of the seven teams they’ve faced this season under 100 points (Boston scored 99 in Cleveland’s season-opening win).
The Cavs have allowed opposing sides to score 60-plus points in the first half in three of their last four games, including New Orleans’ 65 (loss), Chicago’s 64 (win), and New York’s 62 (loss). When James was talking about slow starts, this is likely what he meant.
After Sunday’s 114-95 loss to the Knicks, James was asked if he might take a day off to find out why his team is struggling. The three-time champion, who is hosting his annual Halloween party on Monday night, says he is remaining positive.
Via Joe Vardon of cleveland.com:
“What month is this for me? What is this? October? I’m not about to go crazy over it right now,” James said. “It’s too long of a season and I’ve been a part of this too many times so, I’m the wrong guy to ask. I’m too positive right now.”
Currently, James is averaging 24.6 points on 58.6 percent shooting from the field (40.7 percent from beyond the arc), 8.6 assists, and 7.4 rebounds per game.
The Cavs will be back in action on Wednesday night, when they host the Indiana Pacers at 7 p.m. EST inside Quicken Loans Arena. Let’s see if they come out with more intensity in the first half.