The Cleveland Cavaliers hit a low point in their season Monday night with a blowout loss to the defending champion Golden State Warriors, and Kevin Love thinks the embarrassment should serve as a wakeup call for the entire team — LeBron James included.
After the Cavs were dismantled at home by a score of 132-98, Love had some harsh words for his teammates.
“We got beat up on our home floor tonight,” he said, via Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor. “I think a lot of things went wrong, a lot of things we need to clean up in our preparation, but I think they’re the better team right now. We have a lot of things to get better at. That’s going to take a lot of guys looking themselves in the mirror and it all starts with our leader (James) over there and dwindles on down.”
Love probably didn’t intend to call out LeBron, but it might have sounded better if he focused on his own shortcomings. After getting off to a good start this season, Love once again looks like he has lost his place in Cleveland’s offense. He is averaging 11.8 points per game and shooting just 35 percent from the field this month.
The return of Kyrie Irving has led to less looks for Love, who is clearly frustrated. When asked about his role in the offense, he had little to say.
“I don’t know how to answer that,” Love said. “I’m not going to get into that.”
Even if Love was trying to compliment James by emphasizing LeBron’s role as a leader, he needs to choose his words more carefully. Remember the obvious tension that existed between LeBron and Love last season? If you don’t, perhaps this tweet will help refresh your memory.
The media is waiting for an opportunity to drive a wedge between LeBron and his teammates. Love should know that by now.
