Basketball fans know that the most substantial story from the National Basketball Association (NBA) during the past offseason was Lebron James‘ return to his native Northeast Ohio area. Four years ago, we saw videos of Cleveland Cavalier fans burning his jersey with great anger.

Last June, James’ former team, the Miami Heat, lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals. James became a free agent this offseason, meaning he was free to sign a contract with any team.  Seven days after he became a free agent, in a personalized essay that was published in Sports Illustrated, he declared he would be taking his talents back to his hometown of Cleveland.

“In Northeast Ohio, nothing is given. Everything is earned. You work for what you have,” said James in his essay’s conclusion.

Fast forward about four and a half months, four or five games deep, and the Cleveland Cavaliers found themselves with only one win and three losses. It is very early in the season, but some think this slump will end sometime soon. NBA analysts say that with a lineup like Cleveland‘s, which is full of talent, it will take time to figure out roles and create team chemistry. This seems to be a key struggle for the team at the moment,  as only a few nights ago, after a disappointing loss against the Utah Jazz, Lebron reportedly called out his teammate and star point guard Kyrie Irving in the locker room to voice his displeasure about how the offense is performing.

In the end, it will probably take a month or two of the basketball season at least for the Cavaliers to gel together and develop into the championship team that everyone believes they can become.