The Cleveland Cavaliers suffered an overtime loss to New Orleans on Friday night, and not all appeared to be well afterwards.
During the fourth quarter and overtime, the team’s offense basically ran through LeBron James, as it usually does. After the defeat, James and coach David Blatt seemed to call out the rest of the team.
Blatt said #Cavs have to give LeBron more help. LeBron when asked about taking over in 4Q: "Who else was going to do it?"
— Jason Lloyd (@JasonLloydABJ) December 5, 2015
James took 17 of the 29 shots Cleveland attempted in the fourth quarter and overtime, scoring 23 of their 31 points during that time period. The team simply didn’t trust anyone else with the ball.
Blatt’s comments got back to J.R. Smith, however, and he didn’t seem too bothered.
J.R. Smith laughed when told Blatt thinks LeBron needs more help. "I mean, I had 15 in the first. I don't know what else you want me to do"
— Jason Lloyd (@JasonLloydABJ) December 5, 2015
The problem is that Smith scored just three points on 1-of-6 shooting the rest of the way, so despite his excellent first quarter, he’s as guilty as anyone here.
Even though they’re 13-6, things have always seemed a bit off in Cleveland this season, with James questioning the team’s effort and hunger more than once. The team has plenty of time to straighten things out, though, and they’re a near lock for the playoffs, which is where they can begin chasing their real goal.
