This archive report tracks how the Cleveland Cavaliers have struggled after LeBron James left for the Los Angeles Lakers. The Ohio-born star is now set to face his former team in Cleveland, and the contrast with the Cavaliers’ form could hardly be sharper.
James, 33, built his legacy in Cleveland by helping the franchise to four straight Eastern Conference titles and its first NBA Championship in 2016. That title ended a long drought for the city, which had not celebrated a major sports championship since 1964.
His departure in the off-season was always going to hurt, but the scale of the collapse has still been severe. Cleveland opened the 2018 season with 13 defeats in 15 games, a record that left them bottom of the Eastern Conference. The Phoenix Suns, last in the Western Conference, had one more win.
The Cavaliers’ only victories at that stage came at home against the Atlanta Hawks and the Charlotte Hornets. They had not won away from home since beating the New York Knicks on 9 April the previous season.
Tyronn Lue paid the price for the poor start. He was dismissed on 28 October after the team fell to 0-6, ending a spell that had begun when he was promoted from assistant coach in January 2016. Lue had made history by winning his first 10 post-season games as a head coach and later guided Cleveland to the 2016 Finals comeback against the Golden State Warriors.
Assistant Larry Drew took over, but the task was immediately difficult. The roster had not been rebuilt around James’ exit in the way many expected, and Kevin Love was instead handed a four-year, $120m contract extension.
Love, however, has again been slowed by injury. He missed 45 games across the previous two regular seasons, averaged 19 points and 13.5 assists in Cleveland’s first four games this season, and then underwent surgery on 2 November to address ongoing problems with his left foot. His recovery was expected to be assessed in mid-December.
There was at least one brief lift for the franchise when the team’s new City Edition jersey debuted on 13 November in a 113-89 win over the Charlotte Hornets. The neon orange and royal blue design, inspired by the Cavaliers’ 1994 uniform from the first season at their current arena, had already drawn heavy criticism from fans and an ESPN grade of C-.
James, meanwhile, has continued to add to his own record book. Five days before his 51-point performance against the Miami Heat, he became the fifth-highest scorer in NBA history when the Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 126-117. Against Miami, where he played from 2010 to 2014 and won back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013, he scored a season-high 51 points in a 113-97 victory.
For Cleveland, though, the central issue remains unchanged: life after LeBron James has been far harder than anyone in the organisation wanted to admit.
