Despite forming the new "Big 3" of the NBA, the Cleveland Cavaliers are still struggling to find their team chemistry.
LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers lost against the Atlanta Hawks on December 18, 2014 with a final score of 127-98. The Cavs are currently in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a mediocre record of 14-10, based on a report by ESPN.
James said in the same ESPN report, "If we continue to get better, every individual, if we continue to make strides every day, it's who we have. The guys in the locker room is who we have, and I think we can compete against anybody when we're playing at our best. But it's going to take us to maintain our focus every single day because we cannot afford to take a step backward, because a lot of teams are just better than us as far as chemistry, as far as the camaraderie they have over the years, and we don't have that."
He emphasized, "So we do have enough talent, but talent doesn't win anything."
The Cavs lost their last three games. The last time that the Cavs were blitzed by the Portland Trail Blazers by 19 points, coach David Blatt rearranged the starting five, putting Shawn Marion in and Dion Waiters on the bench.
Blatt said in a report by Business2Community.com, "We're considering everything. I got to tell you the truth, it doesn't seem like the starting lineup is the problem. We seem to be doing pretty good starting. But in order to change other things you may have to do that. So we're thinking about some different things."
Blatt added, "Yesterday was not a good day for us, and I think everybody is feeling it and maybe that's a good thing. We went over a lot of things today. We covered a lot of things."
The Cavaliers will face the Brooklyn Nets next on December 19. James, however, is not so stressed about the whole situation yet. He said in the same ESPN report, "Last night was definitely something that we want to try and forget fast and make amends of it."
James added, "Like I always say, you've got to stay even keel with everything. I'm a huge believer and I know from experience that you can never get too high, you can never get too low on success or defeat. You've got to continue to work the habits, continue to get better every day and, once you get out on the floor, just do what you've been practicing."