Tyronn Lue: Poor Defense, Mindset the Cause of Cavs Recent Skid

With the Cleveland Cavaliers’ rocky opening to the 2017-18 season looking like growing pains at best and an all-out free fall at worst, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue called his team’s latest loss — a 114-95 rout at the hands of the New York Knicks — “unacceptable.”

“Tonight’s loss and the last couple are unacceptable, and the only way we’re going to be able to get out of it is to put the work in — as players, as coaches,” Lue said. “And we’re going to do that. … When you lose to teams the way we’ve been getting beat, it’s unacceptable.”

Cleveland (3-4) has lost four of its past five games by an average of 16.8 points per defeat. It isn’t just the losses but also the caliber of opponent that is alarming. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this is the first time since April of his rookie season that a LeBron James team has lost three straight games against teams that didn’t make the playoffs the previous season.

“Until we get our spirits right, it’s going to be like this,” Lue said.

Source: Dave McMenamin of ESPN