The Cleveland Cavaliers lost their second game in a row on Tuesday night, falling to the 5-4 Detroit Pistons. The Cavs are still 8-3 and in first place in the Eastern Conference, but star forward LeBron James isn't happy with his team's effort and hunger, calling them "entitled."
"We haven't done anything," he said. "We didn't win anything. We lost. We lost in the Finals. So, that's enough motivation for myself. I think we need to understand that. Like, we lost in the Finals. We didn't win. And the team that beat us looks more hungry than we are. So it shouldn't be that way."
James scored 30 points in the 104-99 loss and passed Jerry West to move into 19th on the NBA's all-time scoring list, but this is the second game in a row he's questioned the effort of his teammates after a loss.
"We're too relaxed and too nice. It's not always about being Iron Man. It's a mental toughness as well. Going out and doing your job, doing it at a high level and preparing that way before the tip even happens. So, we got some guys who'll do it and some guys that don't do it consistently enough.
"We shouldn't feel entitled. That's what I continue to say. We're not entitled to a win. We're not entitled to being the Eastern Conference Champions. That's last year. It's a totally different year and until we figure that out, we're going to continue to put ourselves in positions to lose basketball games."
Head coach David Blatt echoed James' sentiments, saying he wants to see more toughness about of the Cavs.
"I didn't think we displayed the kind of toughness that made us a team last year," Blatt said. "I didn't see that the last two games and we need to toughen up in every aspect."
James is averaging 27.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game this season. Cleveland's next game is Thursday night against the Milwaukee Bucks.
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