LeBron James Says Cavaliers Are 'Fine' Despite Early Season Struggles

The Cleveland Cavaliers have started the 2017-18 season just 3-3, losing three of their last four games, but star LeBron James isn't overly concerned with the team's early season form.

"I'm fine," he noted after the team's 123-101 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. "I'm fine, and we're fine. It's a long season. It's way too [early to judge]."

James attributed the team's early struggles, at least in part, to missing two key players, Derrick Rose and Isaiah Thomas:

"We're out two starting point guards. So I'm not overlooking what's going on. I wasn't overlooking if we had success. I'm not going to overlook if we had a couple games off. I'm not getting too high and getting too low. I'm an even-keel guy. I understand this is a long process. We played some different [lineups]. Like I told you guys, we played some crazy lineups that we haven't even played in practice. So we'll continue to get better. There's going to be some games where we don't look as good unfortunately, but that's all part of the process, and we just have to be patient with it until we can become full-strength."

The tenor of James' remarks were mirrored by his teammates. Dwyane Wade felt it was only a matter of time before the team started jumping out to better starts and showing improvement. 

"At some point, we'll get tired of being down early," Wade said. "At some point, we'll get tired of being a .500 ballclub. At some point, you'll get tired of it, and whatever team you want to be, it will show itself."

Kevin Love said sarcastically "We're really upset," before adding that he knows the team needs to play better. He maintained it would be more concerning if the struggles were coming later in the season, however.

And head coach Tyronn Lue acknowledged that the team needed to improve on both sides of the court, adding simply "I'm not concerned."

The early season struggles can be attributed to a number of factors. For one, the team brought in eight new players this offseason and is adjusting to players like Rose, Wade and Jae Crowder playing big roles. Love has started at both power forward and center for the team, while the Cavs experimented with Wade in the starting lineup before moving him to a role off the bench.

"Think about it: It's the first time since LeBron came back that we had that many new guys," center Tristan Thompson said. "It's the first time, so it's going to be a process. It's going to take some time."

Injuries haven't helped. Rose has been dealing with an ankle injury, while Thomas is out until at least January as he recovers from a hip injury. Add in a shortened preseason and it's little wonder the Cavs don't seem to have found their rhythm.

The result? A team that has trailed going into halftime in four straight games, per McMenamin, and one that has given up 109.5 points per game, 24th in the NBA. 

But the Cavaliers have made three previous NBA finals, winning the title in the 2015-16 season, and remain the best team—at least on paper—in the Eastern Conference. James alone makes them a threat. It's hard to imagine they won't continue to improve as they grow more comfortable playing together.