Were the Cavaliers Antics In Loss to the Jazz a Cause For Concern?

Was Monday night’s loss to the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City a step back for a Cavaliers team who could have been looking ahead to sleeping in their own beds again?

Depends on who you talk to.

Monday’s loss was filled with the kind of horseplay that usually is seen by a team that’s 19-47 instead of 47-19. From three technical fouls, a headbutt and two of the teams’ biggest stars going back and forth, there’s just one word to describe the 94-85 loss.

Ugly.

Despite all that, LeBron James wasn’t ready to call it a step back. Instead, handling it like a player eager to get back to the East coast, James said that it’s a chance to look ahead and get better.

“I don’t look at it as a step back,” James said on Cleveland.com. “I’ve always said we’ve still got room to improve, and this is another example of it. I don’t think it’s a step backwards.”

James didn’t even seem to have an issue with the situation surrounding forward Channing Frye, who was thrown out after two technical fouls, the second after he gave a solid headbutt after getting hit in the privates with an elbow by Jazz rookie Trey Lyles.

“It’s nothing personal against Trey, it’s the game and (Frye) being able to stick up for himself,” James said. “But I love that side.”

Some will be more than happy with a 3-1 road trip out West, with wins over the Kings, Lakers and Clippers before Monday’s loss to the Jazz.

Others will look at Monday as more undisciplined play for a team clearly talent wise is heads and tails above just about any other club in the NBA.

Kyrie Irving, who went back and forth at one point with LeBron in what was called a ‘miscommunication’ after the game, put the loss in an interesting perspective.

“Our goals are much bigger than the Utah Jazz… we know what we’re gearing up for,” Irving said.

If that’s the case, then hijinks like that of Monday night should not be tolerated.

Why they were in the loss to Utah is still anyone’s guess.