Only the Cavs know what's truly going on and whether there's any correlation. But James said losing three games in a row gives everyone the green light to start asking questions, talking about any potential issues.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Things were going great for the Cleveland Cavaliers, enjoying all the spoils of being NBA champions.
They went to Indians playoff games, including the World Series. They enjoyed a Kanye West concert and trip to the White House. All of it earned after rallying from a 3-1 deficit against the Golden State Warriors in June and ending a 52-year title drought in Cleveland.
And even with the numerous potential distractions, the Cavaliers didn't seem bothered, getting off to a fast start and rising quickly to the top of the Eastern Conference.
As November closed, they were in the midst of a three-game winning streak, all by double figures, and it appeared their best basketball was coming.
But then with a rare break in the schedule and perfect timing, the Cavs went to Columbus for the Ohio State-Michigan game. Since then, they've looked...different.
The Cavs beat Philadelphia the next day thanks to late-game heroics by Kyrie Irving and LeBron James. Still, that was hardly a performance expected from the conference's elite squad. That's been followed by three consecutive losses, the longest losing streak in the Tyronn Lue era.
Only the Cavs know what's truly going on. Only they know whether their focus is where it needs to be. However, James said losing three games in a row gives everyone the green light to start asking questions, talking about any potential issues.
Well, here we are.
Here are five observations:
Telling stat - It started with 50 against the 76ers. Then the Bucks scored a whopping 68 followed by 30 from the Clippers.
On Friday, it hit a low point, as the Chicago Bulls tallied 78, the most in the NBA this season. Those aren't future lottery numbers. It's the massive points-in-the-paint totals given up by the Cavs' suddenly generous interior defense the last four games.
"Giving up 78 points is ridiculous," James told reporters after the 111-105 loss. "We've got to man up. Everybody."
One-on-one challenge - It starts with something that is often written on the Cavs' white board before the game, one of the customary points of emphasis: Taking the one-on-one challenge.
Lue even mentioned this during his on-court interview at the end of the first quarter.
Whether it's Matthew Dellavedova, Chris Paul or Rajon Rondo, point guards are getting where they want with little resistance. That's on Irving to keep dribble penetration to a minimum, to "cut off the head of the snake." When he doesn't, it puts added pressure on the not-as-imposing frontline.
When Jimmy Butler scoring 26 points and Dwyane Wade going for 24 follows up a 23-point night for J.J. Redick, it's easy to see that J.R. Smith's defensive focus is waning, not at the same level as last year when he was labeled the team's best defensive player.
Taking the one-on-one challenge also means James not allowing Wade to fly past him off the bounce, which happened late in the fourth quarter to end any Cavs' comeback attempt.
"They shouldn't feel good at all, you're playing a team, you've lost 2 games in a row, I'm not saying the effort was not there," Lue said. "We've got to do a better job of guarding, we've got to do a better job of defending and that's on me. I've got to come up with some better schemes or something. It's not just schemes, it's better one-on-one defense."
Size matters - Tristan Thompson is a terrific pick-and-roll defender, able to use his quickness and athleticism to switch onto guards and hold his own on the perimeter.
However, Thompson, along with Channing Frye and Love, can be outmuscled in the paint, something Taj Gibson proved repeatedly Friday night.
Gibson scored 23 points on 10-of-13 from the field to go with 11 rebounds. Robin Lopez added 10 points in 26 minutes.
This comes on the heels of DeAndre Jordan dominating his matchup, scoring nine points to go with 15 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end. Even Greg Monroe took advantage of the Cavs' lack of size, bullying his way to a 14-point, six-rebound night on Tuesday in Milwaukee.
"I mean we're that last line of defense (as the big men)," Love said. "I think myself, I was bad tonight. I mean, just getting to those different rotations and being locked in. We needed to be more in tune with what we're trying to do and have that next man up mentality."
Here are some other troubling numbers in the last three games:
Total rebounding:
Opponents - 150
Cavs - 116
Offensive rebounding:
Opponents - 40
Cavs - 19
Blocks:
Opponents - 13
Cavs - 10
New rotation - James hinted at some lineup changes following Thursday's loss against the Clippers. Lue expressed frustration with his second unit after the Cavs' fizzled following the first quarter in their second straight game.
They were outscored, 28-22, in the second quarter against Milwaukee. The same happened against Los Angeles, losing the second frame, 34-22.
Recently that has been a James-led lineup, being flanked by a few backups.
On Friday, Lue subbed out Irving earlier than usual in the first, allowing him to start the second period alongside James, hoping that would give Cleveland more firepower and keep them from throwing away a good start. It seemed to work.
Opening the quarter on a 10-2 spurt, the Cavs forced Chicago to call timeout. Despite losing the quarter -- just two this time -- the Cavs took a one-point lead into the half.
Then came another problem area: the third quarter. The Cavs have been outscored, 90-55, in the last three third quarters.
Bench woes - No matter what the numbers indicate -- and in this case they aren't favorable -- the Cavs' bench isn't providing much of a reason for Lue to put his faith in that group.
Ranked 27th in the NBA in scoring, averaging 28.5 points, Lue was forced to shorten his rotation against Chicago, using just three players -- Frye, Richard Jefferson and Iman Shumpert.
That trio totaled 23 points in 55 combined minutes. Lue talked about this way back in training camp. He wanted to use the early portion of the regular season to build trust in that group, find effective lineups and rotations and see if the bench could develop its own identity.
It was always going to be a work in progress, especially after the losses of Dellavedova and Timofey Mozgov. But this unreliable?
Chris Andersen hasn't provided much. Mike Dunleavy, who missed his second straight game in the concussion protocol, is off to a rough start in his first season with the Cavs. Kay Felder doesn't look ready.
There aren't many options for Lue. And against Chicago, that led to a high usage rate and minute total (45) for James playing the second of a back-to-back.
The good news? There's lots of time to work out the issues.