Kyrie Irving's 2015-16 mentality: 'There's going to be a lot more rage'
For Kyrie Irving and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the pain from losing in the NBA Finals still lingers.
And that's a good thing.
Falling to the Golden State Warriors in last season's championship series without Irving and Kevin Love on the floor - due to a fractured knee cap and dislocated shoulder, respectively - significantly impaired the Cavs' chances at winning a title.
Now, a few months later, Irving and his running mates are approaching the 2015-16 campaign with renewed focus and a slightly more aggressive mentality.
"From me there's going to be a lot more rage, a lot more emotion," the 23-year-old floor general said.
"There won't be too much smiling or anything like that from our team. That's the mentality we have to have."
This altered attitude toward what Irving hopes to be a season in which he and his team return to the Finals for another crack at glory is in line with the path taken by teammate LeBron James when he was gunning for his first ring as a member of the Miami Heat.
"One thing that we did that didn't even need to be talked about after we lost our first year in Miami when we came back, we was angry," James said, referring to his loss to the 2011 champion Dallas Mavericks. "We was very, very, very angry. And everybody that we went against knew it when we came back."
The Cavs' run at redemption started early this offseason, as the majority of the squad showed up in Miami for "pre-preseason" workout sessions.
This showing of solidarity and collective diligence bodes well for next season's Cavaliers, as noted by James: "Why wait? Why wait until training camp? That's all. Come together. See some familiar faces. Get some work in and start to think about what our goal is. We know what our ultimate goal is. So we don't need to talk about it too much."
Irving, for one, is on the same page as his two-time champion teammate. And, understandably, he is itching to get started while using the last year's agony to fuel next season's drive.
"I haven't forgotten. ... We haven't forgotten what it took to get there and while we were there, the experience," he said.
"But now it's getting better as a team and getting better and more prepared mentally for what the challenges are ahead for us."