Cavs held closed-door meeting after dismal loss to Pistons

Byron Scott was so angry with his team after Friday's loss at Detroit that he held a team meeting to discuss the team's poor play. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

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INDEPENDENCE: Byron Scott was so angry after Friday's lackluster loss to the Detroit Pistons he closed the door to the locker room and held an impromptu meeting with the players and staff.

It's the first time in his three years as coach of the Cavs that Scott held a team meeting after the game. It's also the same night Irving said he was "disinterested" in the second and third quarter of the game.

"I was pretty upset," Scott said Monday. "I said my piece, I let the coaches talk and Press (top assistant Paul Pressey) was the only one who really said anything."

Scott didn't emerge from the locker room Friday until 27 minutes after the game ended. By league rule, coaches are supposed to be out within 10 minutes to talk to reporters. 

Scott was furious that his players once again didn't give a strong effort because of the weaker opponent. The Cavs have competed well against the top teams in the league this season, but have struggled against teams with similar records to their own.

Scott said he was more surprised at Friday's performance than he was Saturday's win over the Thunder.

"I know we're better than that," Scott said of Friday's performance. "And I know that’s a team in Detroit that plays hard and they’re a physical basketball team. You scratch your head more on that game because our guys know that, too. Then we go out and lay an egg like that. That one is more mind-boggling than the way we came out against OKC. I knew just from fear of being embarrassed we were going to come out and compete."

After two days of practice Monday and Tuesday, the Cavs get another chance to prove they can play hard against weaker opponents when the Charlotte Bobcats visit. The Bobcats are one of only two teams in the league with a worse record than the Cavs.

"I think it's the prefect game to see if we're serious about what we want to do," C.J. Miles said. "If we want to be good, we've got to play the same way we played against Oklahoma City."