LeBron: Cavaliers have 'got a long way to go' to reach championship level

Monday night's blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors served as a harsh reality check for LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The defeat brought Cleveland's record to 0-3 against both the Warriors and San Antonio Spurs this season, a sign that the Cavaliers may still be a ways away from capturing a championship this spring - a feeling that James apparently concurs with.

"We’ve got a long way to go," James said to Jeff Zillgitt of USA TODAY Sports. "Tonight was an example of how far we’ve got to go to get to a championship level, and we’ve just got to continue to get better."

James finished with 16 points, five rebounds, and five assists against the Warriors - a solid line, but well below his season averages. The Cavaliers have struggled offensively versus the West's top two teams this season, failing to reach triple digits in each of their contests against the Warriors and Spurs.

LeBron is remaining optimistic in spite of Monday's defeat, however, stating he's "not going to put too much into it." The 12-year veteran understands that the Cavaliers' season will be defined based on their playoff performance.

"Obviously, you want to play well and especially on a stage like this versus the defending champions," James said. "But for me as a leader of this ball club over the last six or seven years, I've always been even-keeled about wins and losses, especially at this juncture of the season."

Despite their recent funk against the Western Conference powerhouses, the Cavaliers still sit first in the Eastern Conference by three games, and remain the odds-on favorites to represent the conference in the NBA Finals. With Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love both healthy, James knows that improving chemistry with his teammates will be paramount to Cleveland's potential postseason success.

"As far as experience, we don't have much together," he said. "So we still have to continue to put it together."