With the Cleveland Cavaliers riding a four-game losing streak and sitting two games under .500 in an uneven start to a season many expected to result in a championship, LeBron James made headlines Monday by summing up his team's troubles in two words: "I stink." He then went about the business of righting the ship by proving himself a liar, much to the chagrin of the visiting Orlando Magic:
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James grabbed control of Monday's contest at Quicken Loans Arena, repeatedly attacking the basket and either scoring or notching the assist on the Cavs' first 17 points, pacing Cleveland to a 10-point lead after 12 minutes. After a rest on the bench that saw the Cavs' reserves extend the lead, James brought more of the same in the second quarter, setting up a pair of Kevin Love jumpers and a Shawn Marion 3-pointer that pushed the advantage to 19, and capping the first half's scoring with a foul-line fadeaway over a too-small Evan Fournier, giving him 22 points on 12 shots and seven assists by intermission.
A pair of LeBron free throws following a clear path foul midway through the third put Cleveland up 20; Orlando never got closer, as the Cavs' second unit finished off a 106-74 rout that, for the moment, quieted talk of fragility, challenges and, of course, stench.
Just as he instantly took responsibility for the game-sealing turnover that capped last week's loss to the San Antonio Spurs, James viewed Monday's meeting with the Magic as an opportunity to show a more vocal and proactive form of leadership amid turmoil than he modeled earlier this season, and the result was a comfortable victory. From The Associated Press:
"I'm my biggest critic," James said. "I wasn't happy with my play the last week. No one puts any more pressure on me than myself. You go out and you just don't talk about it, you show it too."
Cavaliers coach David Blatt wasn't surprised that James followed his self-criticism with a strong game.
"His influence is widespread," Blatt said. "The things that he does and the way he plays the game and the impact he has on those around him is consequential in every respect. He can impact in every way. He did that and obviously everyone followed."
James finished with 29 points on 9-for-17 shooting, 11 assists against just one turnover, four rebounds and three steals in 31 minutes of play through three quarters before resting for the entire final frame. Anderson Varejao (14 points, six rebounds, two assists, two blocks), Kevin Love (12 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals) and Kyrie Irving (12 points, four assists, four steals, no turnovers) offered plenty of support in a get-well win that saw the Cavs hold the 6-10 Magic to just 36.3 percent shooting and score 25 points off 18 Orlando turnovers.
Blatt called the skid-snapping win "a good small step," but the still-getting-acclimated-to-his-new-gig coach knows that blowing out a likely lottery squad that's flirting with bottom-third-of-the-league rankings in offensive and defensive efficiency — and that was without injured second-leading scorer Tobias Harris — doesn't necessarily prove the Cavs are on the right track. Still, with the Cavs struggling to string together consistent performances at this early stage of their development, the component parts of Monday's win — better ball movement, more committed and active defense, and, perhaps more importantly than anything else, LeBron playing very hard from the opening tip with the expectation that his teammates would rise to his level — are the kinds of things James and company can build on, and the ingredients for a sweeter-smelling, more reliably excellent brand of ball.
"A win always makes things feel better," James said after the game, according to Chris Fedor of Northeast Ohio Media Group. "But we still have a lot of work to do. Tomorrow we'll see some of the things we did well, see some of the things that we didn't do so well and we can work on it. It's a good start."
Well, it sure doesn't stink, at least.
Video via Dawk Ins.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
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