LeBron critical of self after issuing season-high 9 turnovers: 'I suck'

The Cleveland Cavaliers came up short in a marquee matchup against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday and LeBron James is shouldering the blame for the 106-97 loss to the Eastern Conference leaders.

Not only was James held to a quiet 18 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field, but, worse, the Cavaliers' superstar turned the ball over a season-high nine times. 

James, averaging a league- and career-high 4.3 turnovers per game, believes his at-times careless play is unacceptable. He's turned the ball over seven times or more in nine games this season.

From ESPN's Dave McMenamin: 

As far as turnovers, I suck, I suck. Tonight was another one of those nights. Some of them were attacking. I remember I had a couple I drove left hard, I thought Kev (Kevin Love) was going to be at a certain place, he cut, I threw it out of bounds. The first two turnovers, I got my arm grabbed. I wasn't strong with the ball. I turned the ball over. 

My last turnover, I seen Kyrie (Irving) open in the paint. I tried to throw high, I should have thrown low. Those are careless turnovers, so it was split. Of my nine, I think five of them were unforced, four of them were attack turnovers. But, I suck. As far as me turning the ball over, I got to do better.

With his high usage rate and propensity to handle the ball, James is prone to turnovers, but he's never approached the levels he's at this season. Still, the potential wart in his game is masked by his MVP-type production in other areas. 

James is the league's third-leading scorer, averaging 26.1 points per game, in addition to 7.3 assists and 5.7 rebounds, and the Cavaliers are, unsurprisingly, a different team when he's on the court, going 2-9 without the 11-time All-Star.

The Cavaliers, half a game behind the Chicago Bulls for first place in the Central Division, wrap up the second night of a tough back-to-back Saturday against the Phoenix Suns.