LeBron: Cavs must move past ‘honeymoon stage’

12/03/2016 by PeekYou Team Comments

CHICAGO — If there ever was a time to be sure that the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ epic three-game win streak to finish the NBA Finals and beat the Golden State Warriors for the championship was a thing of a past, this week’s three-game losing streak — capped by a 111-105 defeat at the hands of the Chicago Bulls on Friday — hammered that point home.

“We’ve got to get out of the honeymoon stage,” a visibly frustrated LeBron James said after he had a personal 30-game winning streak broken for his teams when he totaled 20-plus points and 10-plus assists. “That’s y’alls headline for tomorrow. I know y’all going to use it.”

James finished with 27 points and 13 assists, but he also had a season-high eight turnovers — giving him 20 turnovers during the three losses.

While he had a part in the Cavs’ undoing, it was Chicago’s 78 points in the paint that really stood out for the reason for the demise. This after Cleveland was outscored 68-34 in the first loss of the streak against the Milwaukee Bucks and 30-18 in the second loss against the Los Angeles Clippers.

“You’ve got to play the game the right way,” James continued. “You’ve got to battle every night like we ain’t won nothing. Last year is last year and after ring night, it’s over with. Now it’s a new season and everybody is gunning for us every night and we have to understand that. The honeymoon stage is over and it’s time to play some real ball and be physical, especially in the trenches. Giving up 78 points is ridiculous. We’ve got to man up. Everybody.”

It’s the first three-game losing streak of Tyronn Lue’s tenure as head coach after being elevated to the position at midseason last year.