CLEVELAND -- Communication.
Since the Cleveland Cavaliers overhauled their roster at the trade deadline on February 8, small forward LeBron James has stated the importance of communication on both ends of the floor and how it was the one thing that could improve their play on defense, and it was the same message following Tuesday’s 98-79 loss to the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena in Miami Tuesday.
“I think it’s all about communication because we’ve been so in and out of lineups, different lineups, different rotations, guys getting injured, guys coming back, so the system that we want to put in place, it has to be on the fly, but we’re trying to fast-track it,” James said following the setback in Miami.
“The best way you can fast-track it is just communication. Even sometimes, if you have a scheme, if you mess it up, but if you communicate through it, sometimes, you can make up for it. Our communication has to always be there.”
PHOTOS: Cleveland Cavaliers look to right the ship after loss to Miami Heat
The Cavaliers shot just 36.5 percent (31 of 85) from the field and four of 26 from three-point range (15.4 percent) in a losing effort against the Heat. Conversely, the Heat knocked down 37 of their 78 looks at the basket (47.4 percent) and earned 20 shots from the free-throw line.
Additionally, the Heat forced the Cavaliers into 14 turnovers, blocked nine shots, held a 48-40 edge in points in the paint, and outscored Cleveland, 13-3, in fast-break situations.
“We missed shots early, missed shots early, and then, we allowed their pressure to take us out of some of the stuff that we wanted to do,” interim head coach Larry Drew said.
“When we got down, it just became too big of a deficit. As I told the guys through the timeouts, even when we got down big in the first half, there was still a lot of basketball to be played, so we had to lock in and do things a little bit harder, but we just couldn’t get over the hump.”
The Cavaliers’ loss to the Heat further jumbled up the standings in the Eastern Conference.
Now, the Cavaliers are just a half-game ahead of both the Philadelphia 76ers and Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference standings, as well as a half-game in front of the Pacers for the top spot in the Central Division.
But with a rebuilt roster that is still trying to get healthy ahead of the postseason, the Cavaliers are focused on improved play more than they are playoff seedings.
“You play the hand that’s dealt to you, and I haven’t really been paying too close attention to the standings,” Drew said.
“I know there are some teams that are bunched up, but as I said before, we’re just trying to play our best basketball and just trying to get bodies back and just trying to get everybody used to playing together because we really haven’t had a chance to. Where we end up is just where we end up. Hopefully, we’ll have some momentum against whoever we play.”
