Cavs News: LeBron and Irving Feuding
Trouble in paradise?
Despite owner Dan Gilbert’s now hypocritical attempts to fight super-teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers have built a juggernaut. LeBron James is a four-time MVP, Kevin Love is a two-time All-NBA power forward and Kyrie Irving is the reigning All-Star Game MVP.
Beyond that trio is a deep roster. Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters were Top 5 picks, Shawn Marion and Mike Miller are veterans with championship experience, and Anderson Varejao is a premier presence on the boards.
Through four games, that powerhouse is 1-3.
Tensions boiled over after the Cavaliers’ 101-82 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. It reached a new level after Cleveland shockingly fell 102-00 to the Utah Jazz.
According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, James and Irving exchanged words, prompting Irving to leave early and avoid the media.
"LeBron James and Kyrie Irving exchanged words in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ locker room following the team’s 19-point loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night, and it led to Irving leaving quickly without speaking to the media, multiple sources told ESPN.com.The discussion was seen as healthy, sources said, with the veteran James voicing concerns about the direction of the Cavs’ offense."
It’s a tough time in Cleveland. That type of behavior will garner headlines every time.
Fair or foul.
Cleveland’s loss to the Trail Blazers was highlighted by James going 4-of-12 for 11 points and seven assists. Beyond the hype machine, Irving shot just 3-of-17 from the field and 1-of-5 from beyond the arc with five assists.
All five dimes were dished out in the first half.
Irving, the starting point guard and floor general, hasn’t registered an assist in the six quarters since. That’s 79 minutes and 37 seconds of Cavaliers basketball, to be exact.
James addressed that issue.
"James addressed Irving to discuss the way he’d been dominating the ball in the early going of the season. Irving is averaging just 3.8 assists thus far. He scored 34 points in the 102-100 loss Wednesday to the Jazz but had no assists in 45 minutes of playing time.“Well, I mean, as far as [Irving’s] scoring, it was big time. He made all the shots we needed to keep us in the game,” James said. “He made some great plays down the stretch, finished above the rim. It was great.”“You just can’t explain [the low assist totals]. There’s no way you’re going to win a basketball game like that, just having six assists. … We just can’t win like that, and we got to figure out a way to help each other and not make it so tough.”"
The last time a team won with six team assists or lower was on April 28, 1999.
Irving and James are expected to get on the same page, but early-season struggles are always rough. Cleveland entered the 2014-15 NBA season with as much hype as any team in recent history, but has stumbled out of the gates.
Until it turns things around, talks of a divide in the locker room will continue to exist. Whether accurate or inaccurate, the slightest mishaps will bring a magnifying glass to Northeast Ohio.
The quicker it’s turned around, the quicker the critics are silenced.