King James Gospel
Fansided

Raw Talent or Locker Room Leaders? The Cleveland Cavaliers Need Both.

By Eliana Brown

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JANUARY 8: Cleveland Cavaliers during the national anthem before the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on January 8, 2018 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JANUARY 8: Cleveland Cavaliers during the national anthem before the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on January 8, 2018 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, CANADA – JANUARY 11: LeBron James
TORONTO, CANADA – JANUARY 11: LeBron James /

Team culture is important to consider when dissecting the Cleveland Cavaliers recent struggles.

Scroll past GQ’s Greatest Living Athlete photoshoot and the release of the LeBron 15 shoe series and you will find a noteworthy picture in LeBron James’ Instagram feed. The image was posted right before the 2016-17 season began. James’ back is turned to the camera. After falling to the ground, he is being, literally, lifted up thanks to the help of JR Smith, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. Irving, at 190-pounds, look as if he is willing to fall over just to help up the 250-pound James.

Scroll through Tristan Thompson’s feed and you’ll find a similar image. This one also posted during the beginning of the 2016-17 season, just a few months after the Cavaliers broke Cleveland’s 52-year championship drought and became the first team to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals. Thompson is on the ground looking up, and like James, could use some much-needed assistance.

To the rescue? Four Cavaliers teammates with outstretched arms.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BLu4c5NhPbf/?taken-by=realtristan13

These pictures are not being brought up to reminiscence about the days of Kyrie or to analyze the Cavs social media behavior. These pictures are being brought up because what is happening in them is a rare sight in Cleveland these days. It’s the sight of a coherent, unselfish team.

It is apparent that the core team values that once helped lead the Cavs to a championship have been lost somewhere along the way this season. So it makes one wonder, when and how did these values disappear?

Let’s first rewind to this past summer.