The Cleveland Cavaliers got their first win of the season Friday night against the Chicago Bulls, but that may not have been the case if first year head coach David Blatt had not called a "fiery" team meeting at the team hotel Friday morning.
"He just got on us," James said about the meeting. "He got on us from the time we started our meeting to the time we left. And it's great. For a team like us, we need that. I love constructive criticism. I never took it personal. It's just an opportunity for us to get better, and it definitely put a fire into us."
Blatt was not happy with the effort the Cavs put forward in their seasoning opening loss to the New York Knicks, and let his team know about it.
"We said we have to play better than the way we played [Thursday] night," center Anderson Varejao said. "We have to play harder, tougher, and that's what we did."
Blatt also ripped his team about their 19 turnovers and generally sloppy play against New York, and stressed the need for better ball movement.
"There are some things that have nothing to do with X's and O's," Blatt said. "That's a good part of what we were talking about, and there were other things that were very, very basketball related and we addressed those as well."
Cleveland certainly seemed more energized and focused against the Bulls, which the players credited to the meeting. Their next game is Tuesday in Portland against the Trail Blazers.
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