The Cleveland Cavaliers are losing at lot of games, and if the playoffs started today, LeBron James thinks his team would get bounced before it even got to the Eastern Conference Finals.
It’s clear something needs to change before the playoffs start. Some have mentioned trades, others have mentioned firing head coach Tyronn Lue. Whatever it is, it has to happen fast.
To his credit, James took responsibility for the the Cavaliers have been playing, per Cavs play-by-play announcer Fred McLeod.
It’s interesting that James is putting the blame on himself. As the leader of the team and the face of the franchise, this is something that he is supposed to say. It would look bad if he just threw up his hands and asked others on his team or the organization to figure it out.
But at this point, maybe he should. What else can he do? He’s averaging 26.8 points, 7.8 assists and 8.7 rebounds per game, per Basketball-Reference. He basically is the entire offense for the Cavaliers, and at times the entire defense.
At what point does the blame fall on other players, such as Kevin Love or Dwyane Wade? Derrick Rose randomly left the team earlier in the season as well.
What about the coach? Lue won’t play Tristan Thompson, the best defense post player on that team.
Then there’s the higher-ups that put together an older, slower, and more injury-prone roster and told James just to figure it out.
Leadership is one of the best qualities James has, but it may be time for him to let others take the heat for what’s happening in Cleveland right now.