LeBron James Says Golden State Warriors ‘Hungrier’ Than Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James did not hide his frustration, as the Cleveland Cavaliers absorbed their second consecutive defeat after winning in eight of their first nine games this season.
James, whose team took a 104-99 defeat to the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday, said that they are not playing at the same level as the Golden State Warriors. He pointed out that the Warriors look hungrier than them.
The four-time NBA Most Valuable Player said that they should be more motivated than Golden State after losing to them in the finals last season. But he thinks the Warriors are playing with more sense of urgency than them early in the season.
"We haven't done anything," James said via ESPN. "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 hungrier than we are. So it shouldn't be that way."
The Cavaliers are still on top of the Eastern Conference standings despite absorbing two consecutive defeats to the Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks, but their 8-3 record pale in comparison to the Warriors' 12-0 record, which tied the record of the Michael Jordan-led 1996-97 Chicago Bulls team for the second-best start of a defending champion in a season.
James said that they are playing "too nice" and "too relaxed" this season. Aside from the physical aspects of the game, the 30-year-old superstar also blasted his team for lack of mental toughness.
"It's not always about being Iron Man," said James, who averaged 33.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in their last two games. "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."
Cavaliers head coach David Blatt also had the same take as James, saying that they need to toughen up. The second-year head coach said that playing tough gave them a lot of success last season despite losing to the Warriors in the finals in six games.
Tristan Thompson also said that they are "playing soft" and that they need to become "tougher and meaner" if they want to win. The do-it-all forward said that they should have a different mentality in their upcoming game against the Bucks on Thursday.
"Myself and the rest of the bigs, we got to challenge ourselves, and Thursday especially against Milwaukee, we got to come out with a little bit more attitude and a little bit more ... um, the right word, I could find a different word, but more of a little oomph, more nasty," Thompson added.
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