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Kyrie Ivring frustrated with Cavaliers’ recent slump

Kyrie Irving

Given that the Cleveland Cavaliers have been in a slide for much of the second half of the season, Kyrie Irving is justifiably frustrated.

He made that quite clear. But despite a dismal showing against the San Antonio Spurs and a poor second half, Irving was upbeat assessing how the Cavs can get back on track.

“Obviously it was just a frustrating game and there have been a few frustrating games for all of us,” he said, per Joe Vardon, Cleveland.com. “Just getting back to what we do, having fun with one another and being truthful with one another — we’ll be good.”

Irving also grew frustrated when discussing the team’s apparent complacency after winning the 2016 NBA Finals.

“Now we’re coming to a head where we’ve got to figure it out,” he said in a video posted by Cleveland.com’s YouTube page. “You can’t rely on just thinking that one championship is enough. It’s natural for human beings just to get comfortable just to have an excuse and rely on just having one championship. But if you’re a m*****f*****, you want two, you want three, you want four. And if you dedicate yourself like you say yo do, you want more.  I want more, and I’m going to go take it. My job as one of the leaders of the team is to bring my guys with me.”

With the playoffs looming, we’re not far from answering one of the season’s greatest mysteries. Is Cleveland slumping, or simply coasting?

Looking at the defensive lineup that the Cavaliers have on the floor, it’s hard to express much optimism. Irving and Kevin Love have never been plus defenders. Deron Williams and Kyle Korver are liabilities. LeBron James has generally been a fantastic defender. But he is getting older and isn’t the player he once was on that side of the ball.

Cleveland is 6-9 in March and 8-10 since the All-Star Game.

On the other hand, James has appeared in six straight NBA Finals. In each of the last two seasons, the Cavs handled the Eastern Conference Playoffs with complete ease. It’s plausible that they may just be going through the motions. It’s even possible that the struggles are somewhat intentional, running vanilla schemes as a way to not tip their hand for the upcoming playoffs.

We’ll find out soon enough. But judging by Irving’s comments, it’s hard to envision that at least some of the turmoil isn’t real.

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