Dwyane Wade, LeBron James

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James, left, and Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade talked quite a bit Saturday -- too much for Cavs coach Tyronn Lue's liking.

(Lynne Sladky)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cavaliers have noticed LeBron James' occasionally peculiar behavior of late and have addressed it with their star.

Two members of the team's top brass - coach Tyronn Lue and general manager David Griffin - have had conversations with James over the past few days regarding separate items.

Lue spoke with James after Saturday's 122-101 loss in Miami, during which at halftime James was noticeably chatting it up with his friend, Heat star Dwyane Wade, instead of warming up with the Cavs trailing by 21.

Griffin replaced former coach David Blatt with Lue in part to demand more accountability from James -- which the player covets -- and their chat was an example.

Griffin's talk with James on Wednesday afternoon was a little more general, but was sparked by James' comments to The Bleacher Report that he wanted to play with Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Paul on the same team for a "year or two."

Lue said James apologized to him for his behavior at halftime Saturday night, and Griffin's discussion with James was positive and productive, with James echoing recent public statements about an upward trend for the Cavs heading into the playoffs.

In the meantime, James has said to the press that he's beginning to shift into playoff mode a little early - he's sharpening his focus, paring down his access to social media, etc. - and he's turned in two hyper-charged games this week.

The latest gem was a 26-point, six-rebound, eight-assist standout effort in Cleveland's 113-104 win over Milwaukee Wednesday night. Against Denver on Monday, James notched a triple-double with 33 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in a blowout win.

It's difficult to determine precisely what caused James' shift in focus, and there have been some questionable moments since the change.

He skipped speaking to reporters at shootaround Monday (a rarity for him); unfollowed the Cavs on Twitter and then declined to say why; and barely communicated with teammates who tried to talk to him before the game.

And on Tuesday, James said he might join Snapchat, which raised questions of a conflict with his own business interests via Uninterrupted - the digital platform he created for athletes (it's really not a conflict).

But perhaps James' sharpening can be traced at least in part to the discussion he had with Lue, in which the coach told him his interactions with Wade sent the wrong message to his teammates.

"I just told him we can't have that, being down like we were and him being the leader," Lue told cleveland.com. "Just me being a competitor, I didn't like it. We had a long talk about it. It was good. He understood, he apologized, and he's been great."

James' comments to The Bleacher Report were given Feb. 8 in an interview, at a time in which where there was virtually no drama surrounding him.

In the course of a long session with reporter Howard Beck about his friendship and rivalry with Anthony, James said he would "take a pay cut" to play on the same team with Anthony, Wade, and Bosh, and was hopeful the union could happen.

While the comments themselves were made long ago, they were published at a time when James and the Cavs are under enormous scrutiny, in part because of several cryptic messages James has posted to Twitter and Instagram over the past few weeks that have raised questions about his desire to stay in Cleveland.

James has said those messages were not about anyone on the Cavs but declined to disclose their meaning, leaving fans and media to wonder if he was chastising teammates or even signaling his displeasure within the organization.

Though the Cavs believe the Tweets to be innocuous, given the bevy of attention heaped upon James and the Cavs lately, Griffin's message to James was it's time to play ball.

James has done that and then some this week - against the Bucks he caught a no-look pass from J.R. Smith and ripped off a reverse dunk in traffic.

And then after the game, he dumped some cold water on his own dreams of a Big 4 with Anthony, Wade, and Paul.

"I don't know how realistic it could be," James said. "It would definitely be cool if it happened, but we don't know how realistic it could be to have us four."

The only absolute when it comes to James is what happens at the end of each season - is he champion or no? Otherwise, it's gray, with James dealing with emotions and insecurities just like the average Joe, only with millions of people watching and opining on his every move.

James has gone to five straight Finals and won two in the stretch; no one's been to six in a row since the 1960s. He has felt frustration throughout the year not only over the Cavs' deficiencies, but at the way in which Golden State has dominated.

It's gotten to the point where Cleveland, though leading the East by 2 1/2 games, is an afterthought as a title contender among most NBA observers, which Griffin wants James to use to his advantage.

While focused and demanding of teammates for much of the season, perhaps some of those frustrations got to James in early March, when he started with his cryptic Tweets.

He's begun his own course correction with perhaps a fresh perspective, clearly fresh legs, and maybe a little nudge from Lue and Griffin.