LeBron James admitted the Philadelphia 76ers lacked offensive rhythm and execution after he scored eight points in Friday’s 119-95 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“We’re not feeling a good rhythm offensively. We didn’t look like much offensively,” James said after his return to Northeast Ohio. “We had a couple spurts. We was able to cut it, I think, to three in the third quarter, but too many turnovers on my behalf.”
James shot 3-of-12 from the field, missed all four three-point attempts and committed six turnovers in 32 minutes. He said some mistakes came from careless decisions, while others resulted from unsuccessful attempts to make the right play.
“A little bit of both. Couple of them was careless. Couple of them was just trying to make the right play and, you know, and not being successful,” he explained.
The 76ers fell to 8-2, suffering only their second defeat of the season. James acknowledged that Philadelphia needed to improve after struggling to create consistent offense against Cleveland.
“Every game has its own challenges, and I don’t think offensively, as a group — and I know our damn sure it wasn’t even good at all,” James said. “So, look at the film and try to get better for Sunday.”
The game also marked James’ first appearance in Cleveland since choosing Philadelphia in free agency rather than returning for a third stint with the Cavaliers. Asked about the reception from the home crowd, he recalled the extremes of his previous experiences in the city.
“Nothing can get as worse as December 2nd, 2018, from a reception standpoint,” James said. “I’ve seen the damn near the depths of hell when it comes to reception here all the way to like the heavens above. So, anything in between is easy money.”
James also reflected on his career in Cleveland, where he led the franchise to its first NBA championship in 2016.
“Just a journey. The journey from being an 18-year-old rookie to, you know, leading the franchise to a championship, you know, and everything in between,” he said.
The Cavaliers marked the 10-year anniversary of that championship with a banner celebrating the achievement. James described winning the title as one of the defining moments of his time with the franchise.
“As far as my tenure here and the years that I spent here, I mean, obviously those are at the top, you know, along with being drafted,” he said. “Getting drafted and earning a championship is obviously icing on the cake and something I wanted to do.”
Despite the disappointing result, James pointed to Philadelphia’s early-season record as a reason to keep perspective.
“We just got to be better. We just got to simply be better,” he said. “Since you would have told me with our team for 10 games, first 10 games of the season, we’d be eight and two, I’d take it.”
James also praised Cleveland’s Peyton Watson, who contributed 13 points and nine rebounds.
“Tonight he played well. Exceptionally well,” James said. “He had a great summer. Obviously was dealing with some injuries over the last couple years, but he had a great summer. Was a great addition to the ball club.”
Philadelphia visits the Chicago Bulls on Sunday, November 8, looking to respond to its defeat in Cleveland.
