LeBron James says the Cavs “could never build for the playoffs”

When looking back at the regular season, LeBron James feels like the Cavs were never able to build for the playoffs amid all of the changes and injuries the team went through this season.

“I think the postseason is that,” James said on Wednesday when asked if the Cavs will be ready for Game 2’s physicality. “I think we spent so much time trying to figure out who we were in the regular season and getting the right lineups and guys in and out and things of that nature, we could never build for the playoffs. It was kind of like, build for the next game. So the postseason finally hit us and it hit us very well. And I think that can be the best teacher for us to know exactly what we should expect tonight.”

What James says rings true. Going back to the start of the year, Isaiah Thomas wasn’t healthy until January and then didn’t work out when he was healthy. Then, the Cavs overhauled their roster at the trade deadline with three of the four players acquired at the deadline — Larry Nance Jr., Rodney Hood and George Hill — dealing with various injuries. Plus, Kevin Love missed several weeks with a hand injury, Kyle Korver missed seven games and Tyronn Lue had to step away for several games due to his own health issues.

This all led to the Cavs being in the position they are in now, figuring it out as they go.