LeBron James explains why Cavaliers were caught off-guard by playoffs
The Cleveland Cavaliers did not look ready for their playoff opener on Sunday, falling behind 25-8 out of the gate and eventually losing 98-80 at home to the Indiana Pacers. LeBron James thinks he knows why.
According to James, the Cavaliers did so much regular season tinkering that they spent too little time preparing for the postseason.
“I think we spent so much time trying to figure out who we were in the regular season and getting the right lineups and guys in and out and things of that nature, we could never build for the playoffs,” James said, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “It was kind of like, build for the next game. So the postseason finally hit us and it hit us very well. And I think that can be the best teacher for us to know exactly what we should be ready for tonight.”
Cleveland’s myriad of midseason moves means that they’re not as experienced as they have been in years past, though James himself was pretty passive early on as well. The star forward thinks that loss should serve as a wake-up call and an introduction to playoff basketball that some of his teammates may have needed.
