LeBron says Heat teams could stomach criticism: 'No one took it personal'

LeBron James returned to Cleveland from Miami last year, and he brought with him two NBA titles and four years of hard-won championship experience.

James says one of the most important things he learned in his tenure with the Heat was the value of internal criticism, of teammates holding themselves and each other accountable.

"I think being in Miami, the best thing about our team was that you could say whatever you wanted to say, when you wanted to say it right then and there, and no one took it personal," he said Thursday, according to Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com.

"You may be mad at that guy for a few days or whatever the case may be, but it never affected what we did out there on the floor, because we only had one common goal and that was to win. That's all that mattered. So when you realize stuff like that, you realize it's not about you and it's never about you. It's about the big picture."

James has brought that ethos to this year's Cavaliers, who, despite an 8-3 start that has them at the top of the Eastern Conference, have yet to look fully locked in. They've played down to the level of some of the weaker competition they've faced to this point, and lost their second straight game Tuesday night against the Detroit Pistons.

After the Pistons loss, James came down hard on his team.

"We lost in the Finals. We didn't win. We lost," he said. "And the team that beat us looks hungrier than we are. It shouldn't be that way."

Before that, he said that the Cavs were playing with "half-ass effort," and before that he called out his teammates in the middle of a game, barking, "You motherf---ers gonna play?"

The Cavs are also dealing with significant injuries, as point guard Kyrie Irving and shooting guard Iman Shumpert are still working their way back from knee and wrist surgery, respectively.

Still, James isn't making excuses.

"It's been challenging," he said, "but at the same time, it shouldn't take away from the guys that's in uniform. We need to come out and play with a little bit more sense of urgency."