LeBron James Calls Out Cavs Teammates for Lack of Effort

LeBron James is rumored to be leaving Cleveland.

LeBron James has urged his Cleveland Cavaliers teammates to put in more effort after yesterday’s disappointing loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

The Cavs suffered their sixth loss of the season against Atlanta, going down 117 – 115. The Hawks, who hold the Easts worst record having lost their previous 8 games, went up by 16 early on.

On Friday Night, LeBron James put in a mammoth 57 point performance in a tough away match against the Washington Wizards. Last night though, Cleveland reverted to the poor form which has seen them lose to the Magic, Nets, Pelicans, Knicks and Pacers.

The four-time MVP admitted after the Atlanta defeat that he is finding it hard to motivate the Cavs players.

“Yes, so far. We’ve just got to try and find a way.

“The guys in and out and different line-ups here and things of that nature but the energy and effort, from everybody..

“We don’t want to single anyone out but everyone has to step up their play in order for us to be as good as we would like to be.

“The effort was pretty bad.

“You turn a corner but you can’t fix it in one game.

“This is something that’s been going on for a while so we’ve just got to try and figure it out but tonight we fell into that again.”

Postseason

Cleveland is 4-6 for the season, and have a tough schedule coming up. Following Tuesday’s match with the Milwaukee Bucks, they play five of the next six away.

It’s still early in the season, with 72 games left for the Cavs to qualify for the NBA Finals. They have made it to that stage for each of the last three years.

However, the battle for the Eastern Conference doesn’t look encouraging for James and Cleveland.

Despite becoming the youngest player to reach 29,000 career points on Friday, James has only scored 50 + points 11 times. Cleveland has conceded 111.9 points per 100 possessions this season – the worst in the league.  It is evident that with such a shaky defense, the Cavs offense has to dominate their opponents to win.

With players like LeBron James, Kevin Love, J.R. Smith, Derrick Rose, Jae Crowder, Jeff Green, Kyle Korver, Dwyane Wade and Channing Frye, it would make sense for Cleveland to perform like a top attacking team.

The numbers tell a different story, however. Last year, Cleveland made 38.4% of their three point attempts and made 13 per game. So far this year they are making 33.1% of attempted three pointers, scoring just 10 per game.

In spite of the negativity, Cavs coach Ty Lue thinks “It’s coming back around”, and said that the team’s offensive trouble is having an effect on the defense.

“When we’re not making shots and not scoring I think it becomes mental.

“That’s for a lot of teams. If you’re not scoring, your defense drops. So, I think a lot of guys are frustrated that we’re not making shots and we’re not scoring.”

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