CHICAGO -- LeBron James said the Cleveland Cavaliers are in a bad spot, and Kyrie Irving indicated the team had a meeting after its 99-93 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night.
"We're just in a bad spot right now. Not disappointed with the effort. We're just in a bad spot," James said after the Cavs' fifth loss in their past seven games. "We're going to try to figure it out. ... I think the effort was there. I just don't think the concentration for as close to 48 minutes is there yet. Which is unfortunate."
The Cavs are 6-10 in March, the first time James has experienced a double-digit loss total in a month since November 2003, his first full month as a pro. Thursday was the team's 12th road game of March, which set a franchise record, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
The defeat knocked the Cavs a half-game behind the Boston Celtics for the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
"Every journey's different. When you're in it, it absolutely sucks, when you're in a rut like this," Irving said. "We're taking steps forward. After the game we took a step forward."
Irving declined to elaborate on what took place after the game.
James, meanwhile, skipped his typical postgame ice routine, left the locker room and went to the bus before coach Tyronn Lue met with the media.
"I'm never one to shortcut the process. It's all part of the process," James, who scored 26 points, said before going to the bus. "It's what I live by, that's how I built my career, so tomorrow's another day. It's another opportunity, but we've got some work to do. We don't have a lot of time."
The Cavs close out March with a home game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.
"To be perfectly honest, we're probably all over the place," Irving said of the team's mental state. "It's no time to kind of back up into the wall and panic. I'm not panicking and I don't think anyone in this locker room should panic. We're going to be just fine. It's ugly right now. It's real, real ugly. But we'll get out of this, we'll be fine."
