There’s no denying the fact that Lebron James carried a mediocre Cavaliers team all the way to the NBA Finals last year. When the offseason came and went without any sort of acquisition, the message was clear: This is Lebron’s team and with him, the sky is the limit. But the last week has proved that without King James, the Cavs are a mess. A complete, total mess.

With James on the mend because of a sprained finger, the Cavs have had to make do without their star for the last three games. The result? Three straight losses with a scoring average of about 75 points. Is there another team in the league that reliant on a single player? Hell, I’d take my chances with the Lakers minus Kobe Bryant over the Lebron’less Cavs.

Cavaliers coach Mike Brown, who rarely jumps on his team publicly, expressed disgust with its performance.

“I want to see them fight,” Brown said. “I didn’t see any tough or any grit as a team out there.”

Without Lebron, this team is hopeless. And to add to the Cavs’ misery, free-agent bust Larry Hughes is also out for the next few weeks. Is it ironic that LeBron’s MVP hopes are growing more because of injury than his stellar on-court play? Without his gaudy numbers, the Cavs are proving each and every night that they’re one of the worst teams in the NBA without #23 on the court.