After the Cavs lost to the Grizzlies, 106-103, Monday, a frustrated LeBron James gave his honest assessment of the Eastern Conference leaders.
"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 (via ESPN.com). "We're still learning. We still have things that happen on the court that just — that shouldn't happen."
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Somehow, the Cavs still had a chance in the closing seconds despite committing a season-high 25 turnovers that led to 30 Memphis points.
“I don't care who you're playing, it could be my son's Little League team — you're going to lose when you give up that many turnovers just from carelessness,” James said.
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Power forward Kevin Love added, “We just could have done a better job of respecting the game. That was a real bad loss for us. ... Turnovers were terrible."
At 44-18 the Cavs still lead the Raptors by 2 1/2 games atop the Eastern Conference. And if it’s possible for a 44-win team to need a wake-up call, Monday night may have been it for LeBron and Co.