After an up-and-down start to the 2017-18 season, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers have managed to rebound in a big way. As winners of nine straight games, they currently hold the NBA’s longest active streak. Spirits are running high in The Land, despite the fact that their team is without the services of several rotational players due to injury (Isaiah Thomas, Iman Shumpert, Derrick Rose, and Tristan Thomspon).
Prior to boarding his flight to Atlanta on Wednesday afternoon, James decided to post a “State of the Cavs” address. In his Uninterrupted post, James discussed why the Cavs have been so successful, as well as his ejection in Tuesday night’s home game.
“Right now, we’re riding a nine-game winning streak,” James said in his post. “We’re just playing good ball. The rotations are unbelievable. The game plans (our coaches) have been giving us have been unbelievable. And then I just believe that the players are just getting more and more comfortable with one another. You know, adding seven new guys to a team is difficult. Early on, we saw that. We didn’t each other — both on the floor or off the floor. The trust wasn’t there. And I think we’ve just been getting better and better and better with every road trip, every game. And it’s resulted in us winning nine straight.”
“I think the reason that we won last night is because I’ve been a huge distraction to the team,” James continued. “And that’s why me getting ejected was best for the team. I got ejected and we were still able to win a game. But in all seriousness, I think that we’re just been playing really good ball right now. We’ve been very consistent defensively with our game plan. We’ve been sharing the ball. Offensively, we’re moving bodies. Our bench has been unbelievable. D-Wade (Dwyane Wade), Channing (Frye), Kyle (Korver), Jeff Green, Cedi (Osman), Shump (Iman Shumpert), Big Z (Ante Zizic), Jose (Calderon), and everybody who’s come off the bench has given us a huge spark. Our bench has been the difference in how successful we’ve been as of late.”
“It’s fun times for us right now,” James said in his closing remarks. “Not because we’re winning games, but how we’re winning games. And when you’re winning games the right way, you’re playing for one another, you’re sacrificing… it makes it that much more fun.”
James is right on the money in crediting the Cavs’ bench. After Monday night’s 113-91 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland’s second unit has combined for 50-plus points on four occasions.
James and the Cavs will have a chance to improve their win streak on Thursday night, when they’ll face off against the Atlanta Hawks inside Philips Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST with Fox Sports Ohio and Fox Sports Southeast having live broadcast coverage.
