The Cleveland Cavaliers conducted a clear-the-air team meeting prior to Wednesday night's encounter with the Indiana Pacers in an effort to address their horrible start to the season.

Unfortunately, this didn't have the desired effect as they lost their fourth straight game and again by double digits.

The Pacers came away with a huge 124-107 win at Quicken Loans Arena as the Cavs' defensive problems continued.

Despite their slump, LeBron James went into the game full of optimism, saying he is "excited what the future holds for our team".

But James and the Cavaliers are in no position to be looking ahead as the present is looking pretty ugly.

The four-time MVP's optimism soon turned into disappointment immediately after the game as he bemoaned the lack of energy shown by the team in another thumping loss on their home floor.

"We can't sustain effort for 48 minutes," James told reporters after the game.

It was the third game in a row they'd dropped by at least 17 points and the signs are becoming increasingly worrying for the Ohio-based outfit.

As well as Indiana, their defeats have now come against the Orlando Magic, Brooklyn Nets, New Orleans Pelicans and New York Knicks.

Four out of those five teams failed to make the playoffs last season and having been blown out in each contest, the Cavs should be concerned with what lies ahead against the better teams in the league.

Defence was once again their issue in last night's defeat as they surrendered at least 112 points for the sixth consecutive game. Cleveland currently ranks 29th in the NBA in defensive rating.

When asked how they can put this right, LeBron said: "I don't know. Get in better shape, be more mindful of what's going on. There's a lot of things you can do."

With Kyrie Irving gone, Isaiah Thomas out injured, J.R. Smith in a horrible shooting slump and new recruits such as Dwyane Wade and Jae Crowder still finding their way, it has resulted in James getting off to his worst eight-game start since his rookie season 13 years ago.

Tristan Thompson suffered a calf strain and left the arena on crutches after the game to add to the team's problems.

"We have an opportunity to be very good, but then you see some of the lulls that we have, it's just very difficult on our team right now," James said.

"We're trying to figure it out on the fly and unfortunately we don't have time to practice a lot and do those things. And now Tristan went down again, we don't know how long he's going to be out, so our team is kind of depleted as well."

The loss certainly isn't on LBJ as he did everything he could to try and rally his team putting up 33 points (on 14-of-22 shooting), six rebounds, 11 assists, two steals, and a block.

But he also committed eight of the team's 16 turnovers, which contributed to the Pacers' relentless transition game.

The Cavs travel to face the Washington Wizards on Friday who will be licking their lips at the prospect of facing the wounded Eastern Conference champions and send out a statement that they're ready to dethrone them this season.