LeBron James: Cavs Are Not Ready for the Playoffs

Following a demoralizing 106-103 loss Monday night at home to the woefully under-manned Memphis Grizzlies, LeBron James stated the obvious: the Cleveland Cavaliers aren’t ready for Playoff basketball just yet.

James poured in 28 points—moving into 13th place on the all-time scoring list—and added 9 rebounds and five assists.

Tony Allen led the way for the Grizz with 26 points in the upset victory.

Per the Akron Beacon Journal:

LeBron James has spoken at length about the process, about respecting the process and learning to win. This was the opposite of that. […] “We didn’t respect them tonight,” James said.

 

“We just could have done a better job of respecting the game,” Kevin Love said. […] The Grizzlies had eight players available. They were missing five key rotation pieces that totaled more than 49 points a night, including stars Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph and Mike Conley. Instead they beat the Cavs because Tony Allen got into the paint and scored a season-high 26 points – more than he has scored in any NBA game in more than five years.

 

“I can sit up here and say that we’re a team that’s ready to start the playoffs tomorrow, but we’re not,” James said. “We’re still learning, we still have things that happen on the court that just, that shouldn’t happen. But then you look and see our guys are still learning how to play winning basketball, so you kind of put it in perspective.”