Kyrie Irving says the Cavs’ current struggles aren’t like being down 3-1

Kyrie Irving, while frustrated with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ recent play, he still has a specific goal in mind: winning more NBA titles.

“You can’t rely on just thinking that one championship is enough,” Irving said at the Cavs’ practice Wednesday, per The Athletic. “It’s natural for human beings to just get comfortable, to rely on just having won a championship. But if you a muthafucka, you want two, you want three, you want four. And if you dedicate yourself more like you say you do, then you want more. And I want more. I’m going to go take it. My job as one of the leaders on the team is to bring my guys with me.”

Irving is having his best scoring and shooting season, but he is coming off a rough performance in the Cavs’ blowout loss to the Spurs. And while a lot people on the team seem confident that the team will turn it around - notably coach Tyronn Lue and Kevin Love - Irving seems frustrated about where the team is at. He also openly spoke of needing to do a better job of getting J.R. Smith and others better involved.

"We know we have the culture here. We know we have the guys," he said, per ESPN. "We know when we're not playing up to our level. We just allow it to pass and pass and it turns out to kind of be a s*** show.”

Irving also said that the team’s current situation isn’t like coming back from a 3-1 lead.

"The emotion is different. Everyone has grown," he said of that comparison. "Everyone has kind of gone their own way and now we come into a head where we've got to figure it out."

The question is how and when the Cavs will turn it up. Historically, what they’ll need to do is difficult. But it seems as if Irving is ready for the challenge ahead.