LeBron James posted a perplexing meme to Instagram in the midst of disappointing stretch

Abbie Parr/Getty Images

• The Cavaliers season has not started as planned, with LeBron James and company losing six of their last eight games.
• James posted a popular meme to Instagram to express his frustration, and many believe it to be related to the departure of Kyrie Irving.

  ---

The Cleveland Cavaliers have not looked like the powerhouse team that has made three consecutive NBA Finals.

Losers of six of their last eight games including relative blowouts at the hands lesser teams like the Pelicans, Pacers, and Magic, it's clear that the Cavaliers aren't firing on all cylinders.

With so much upheaval in the offseason, including the departure of All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving and addition of Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade, some could chalk the tough start off to little more than a stumble off the block - there's still enough talent on this team to make a deep run in the playoffs, and that's just accounting for a single player.

But LeBron is clearly frustrated with the team's lackluster start, and took to Instagram to express his feelings in cryptic fashion, posting the popular "Arthur" meme with a caption that read simply, "Mood..."

The image of Arthur's fist became a popular meme for expressing suppressed anger last year, and it appears that James is employing the image to that effect as well.

As SB Nation's Kristian Winfield noted, NBA players around the league were quick to respond to the post, with Damian Lilliard commenting, "This is hella funny" and Cavaliers teammate Isaiah Thomas asking, "Need me to handle somebody cuz?"

C.J. McCollum, Eric Bledoe, and Jahlil Okafor were among other players that liked the post.

The timing of the post also drew the attention of NBA social media sleuths. While James' general frustration could stem from a lot of sources - the recent string of losses, uneven play from his teammates, or a looming week on the road to name a few - the post came in the midst of former teammate Irving having another great night.

Irving, who has led the Boston Celtics to an NBA-leading 9-2 record despite the loss of Gordon Hayward in the first game of the season, was in the middle of putting up 35 points against the Hawks to help the Celtics along to their ninth consecutive win. Chances are LeBron was watching, and could only make a fist in self-contained fury as his dear-departed point guard helped carry a rival team to victory.

LeBron will look to turn take his anger out on the court and start turning the Cavaliers season around when they host the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.