LeBron James fancies himself a master motivator. Now he’s trying a new method: sub-tweeting. Or is he?
On Saturday night, James issued this tweet with the caps-lock the biggest clue as to whom he was talking about.
After the Cavaliers dismantled the Lakers on Sunday by a 120-105 final — their 13th victory in 14 games — James appeared to confirm the tweet was directed at Kevin Love, who has had an up-and-down season as he adapts to being a secondary — or even tertiary — scoring option alongside James and Kyrie Irving.
“It’s not a coincidence, man,” James told a small group of reporters afterward.
Multiple times this season, Love has discussed the “fitting in” issue.
“I’m comfortable and just not trying to, I guess, fit in so much,” Love said during the preseason. “I had a talk with the guys on the plane ride over [to Brazil] and also at different practices off the floor and they told me to fit out, just be myself.”
But James backtracked Monday and admonished the press, even after he appeared to acknowledge Love was the source of his social media frustration.
Love’s lack of defensive prowess often has landed him on the bench in fourth quarters of close games, as was the case Friday night against the Pacers, which was Cleveland’s only loss in the past 14 games.
“It’s one of the toughest situations I’ve had to deal with,” Love told Cleveland.com after scoring five points. “There’s no blueprint for what I should be doing [as a ‘spacer’ in the offense],” Love said.
There have been rumblings of discord between James and Love this season, but they have receded in the wake of the Cavaliers’ torrid play. James is trying to build Love up by involving him more in the offense.
“We wanted to keep going to him,” James said. “I drew up a few sets for him in timeout. He had the hot hand, and I wanted to keep going to him.”
Love, who scored 32 points against the Lakers, appreciates James’ efforts to include him.
“It’s huge,” Love said. “Whether I’m running the floor and ducking in or he’s calling a play for me to get it inside or out. He’s one of the best in the league at setting guys up. So when I’m on the other end of that and it’s a crisp pass coming from him, it’s going to be a good look.”