LeBron James

Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James doesn't believe it will take him much time to get in the shape Tyronn Lue would like.

(Chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer)

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- New Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue is already putting his imprint on the team.

Lue, who took over for David Blatt Friday, not only wants the Cavs to play with more spirit, but he wants them to play faster as well, something he first mentioned following Saturday's loss against the Chicago Bulls.

To do that, according to Lue, the players need to be in better shape.

"I don't think I'm in bad shape at all, just need to get in better shape for what we want to do," LeBron James said following Monday's shootaround. "I'm not that far off. I can get there in less than a week."

Every player will approach it differently. Two days after Lue's comments about the team's conditioning, James woke up early, worked out on his own and shared the photo on Instagram.

James said that kind of workout on game day is "pretty routine." It will certainly help with what Lue is demanding from his players.

"It's not even about getting more points," James said. "It's not about being out of control. It's just about getting the ball up the floor faster than usual, giving ourselves more time to execute the offense. We're now going to be a little bit more deliberate and conscious of our offensive sets and we need more time.

"We need more time to execute the things we want to execute. Instead of getting up the floor at 15 (seconds on the shot clock), being able to get up there at 19 gives us four more seconds. And some people think four seconds is nothing, but in our league, and in sports, four seconds is a ton of time, so it's going to help us."

Still, the up-tempo style will be tough, especially given the Cavs have already moved beyond the halfway point of the season. It's almost February. Ideally, these adjustments would've been made in training camp, a time when the schedule isn't as tight.

Kyrie Irving admitted Saturday that his "chest felt like it was about to cave in" during the first six to eight possessions against the Bulls. Of course, Irving is still in his "preseason" after making his debut on Dec. 20. Other players are further ahead. But Irving's comments help display some of the likely short-term challenges after the in-season change.

"I think we have to be quick learners, learn on the fly," Kevin Love said. "Have to get on the same page with the new stuff. I think we all are on the same page on what we want to get accomplished, but as far as putting in the new sets, getting in the film work and knowing exactly what we want to get done, it's going to take us a few games. I'm not entirely sure how long it's going to take."

The Cavs currently rank 28th in pace, averaging 94.93 possessions per 48 minutes.

"I don't necessarily think we're out of shape but for how we want to push the ball after misses and makes and get guys in and out of the lineup and get different lineups out there, I think that we can stand to be in better shape," Love said. "I wouldn't call us 'out of shape.'"

That's not the only change. The coach also wants to tweak the offense, hoping to involve Love more at the elbow more, maximizing his offensive potential.

The team has 12-13 different sets for Love at that spot. But just as it will take time for the players to get in shape to go faster, Love's new role will require patience.

"It's just early in those stages now," Love said. "I think with everyone there's always a different style. Ty Lue is no different than anybody else would be so he does things his way and we're going to be pushing the ball a lot harder, putting in different sets and it's going to be his philosophy. We're on his side. We have his back."