NBA Power Rankings: Clippers are too good to ignore

1. team. 156. The Cleveland Cavaliers lost their first game of the year to the Atlanta Hawks. While that would usually be the biggest story of the week for a formerly undefeated team it’s not in this case. The bigger story for the Cavs is just how much of a backseat LeBron James has taken to both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love this year. 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists a night aren’t pedestrian numbers for most, but most people aren’t LeBron. With LeBron easing back it’s allowed Love to get back to the 20-10 player we all knew and loved during his time with the Minnesota Timberwolves. It’s also allowed Irving to shoot 20 shots a game and lead the team in scoring (23.9 PPG). I don’t think this is a full on passing of the torch from King James to Irving, but I do think that we will see this trend continue throughout the duration of the regular season. James knows that he needs to be at his best come June and for that to happen he needs to coast whenever possible in the regular season. James also knows that he needs his teammates to be at their best come June too and if that is going to happen he can use the 82-game regular season to make sure that they are clicking on all levels.. (8-1). Previous: . Cleveland Cavaliers