The Cleveland Cavaliers are 11-4 and No. 1 in the Eastern Conference but LeBron James is still disappointed in his team after the Raptors defeated them 103-99 on Wednesday night. The Cavaliers held a players-only meeting during which LeBron James and James Jones got on the team for its inconsistent play.
via ESPN:
The loss to Toronto marked Cleveland’s fourth defeat at the hands of an Eastern Conference opponent this season — all of them coming on the road — and left the Cavs’ vocal leaders questioning the team’s mental toughness, something that has been a bit of a recurring theme so far this year.
“It’s all mindset,” James said after the game, still visibly frustrated. “It comes from within. I’ve always had it; my upbringing had me like that. It’s either you got it or you don’t.”
“I thought that we got tired for obvious reasons. Very short-handed. Thought our guys played hard and I thought we ran out of gas,” coach David Blatt said. “I thought fatigue played a big part of that, I really did.”
James, however, rejected his coach’s softer stance.
When asked whether fatigue was a factor, James said, “No. It’s not an excuse.” When another reporter asked whether injuries were to blame, James repeated, “It’s not an excuse.”
