It has been a rough start of the 2017-18 NBA season for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Not many people expected the Cavaliers to have a 3-4 record after seven played games of this season. The Cavs are considered to be one of the favorites to win the NBA championship, especially after all the roster changes they made this past summer, but things aren't looking well for them right now.
After losing to the Golden State Warriors in last season's NBA Finals, the Cavs decided to make some major roster changes during the summer of 2017. They traded Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, and Ante Zizic and also acquired Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade and Jeff Green among others.
But even with all this firepower, the Cavs are currently at the 11th spot in the Eastern Conference standings.
What's wrong in Cleveland?
Led by LeBron James' 29-point effort, Tyronn Lue's squad opened up the season with a solid home victory against the Boston Celtics. But in the following six game, the Cavaliers suffered four defeats, including three losses in a row. The one that sticks out the most is the latest, 95-114 loss at home to the New York Knicks. It was an embarrassing effort by the defending Eastern Conference champions, and it is now apparent that something is wrong with the team that hopes to play again in this season's NBA Finals. The way they are playing right now, it is questionable whether or not they could even make it past the first round of the playoffs.
The Cavs themselves are also aware of their poor performances lately, and the head coach Tyronn Lue recently addressed these issues. Following Cavaliers' latest 95-114 loss to the Knicks, Tyronn Lue spoke to Cleveland.com's Joe Vardon about the lack of effort by his squad: "Teams just look faster than we do, at every position." Lue also went on to comment the way LeBron James influences the game and his teammates.
What else can LeBron do to help his team
Many are wondering if LeBron James is the reason behind the Cavs' struggles, but his stats tell otherwise. Throughout the first seven games of the season, James has averaged 24.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 8.6 assists per game while shooting 58 percent from the field. That's impressive for a guy in his 15th season in the league.
But even with LeBron playing at this high a level, his team is still having a tough time winning basketball games. Could he do more, or should his teammates take the blame and step up?
According to Joe Vardon, Tyronn Lue said that some of the new Cavs players are "intimidated" by playing alongside LeBron James. "Guys have got to understand that LeBron, he's a giving person, he's a giving player," Lue said. "You've got to come in and play your game and we'll adjust. I think a lot of times we defer to LeBron or guys are scared to be aggressive because of that."
One thing is for sure, despite his greatness, LeBron James needs more help and he needs it now. His teammates need to step up if the Cavaliers want to bring another NBA title to Cleveland.
The fans in Cleveland are also hoping that Isaiah Thomas will be back on the court as soon as possible as he is out indefinitely due to a hip injury. Thomas averaged 28.9 points per game last season and surely his presence on the court will be invaluable for the Cavaliers.
