It is far from an overreaction to state that the Cleveland Cavaliers are in the midst of a disastrous season.
Standing currently at 15-12, based on the past few seasons, one could think they have gone through
hell and back to come out that slow. Not at all. Actually, in the past two games, the Cavaliers have faced off against the Eastern Conference juggernauts known as the Charlotte Hornets (8-18) and Washington Wizards (4-20). The Cavaliers we have seen over the last few seasons would have put these two teams in the rearview and never looked back.
Cleveland was down in both of those games in the fourth quarter (79-88 against Charlotte and 85-100 against Washington). They were able to claw back against the woeful Wizards, who were probably so excited to be leading in a fourth quarter that they didn’t know what to do with themselves. The Cavaliers scored 45 points in the final frame to salvage another nauseating performance.
Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, lightning did not strike twice as they could not reclaim the magic to overcome their deficiencies, losing to the Hornets in overtime. You might be saying to yourself, “Hey, but at least they were able to come back enough for overtime!” If you want to be in that headspace for a team that had title aspirations, that’s your choice. However, how big of a moral victory is it when you realize the team scored 0 points in overtime TO THE CHARLOTTE HORNETS.
It was widely reported that Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson held a “long film session” in which “He (head coach Kenny Atkinson) just called us out,” De’Andre Hunter stated. This blunt meeting was followed up by a player only meeting where more accountability was called out and frustrations were aired.
These meetings combined with five days of rest and games coming up against two opponents with a combined 11-36 record had all the writings for the Cavaliers to recalibrate. As stated above, nothing has changed.
The only way in which the Cavaliers are excelling is in their PR efforts. The players and their head coach are saying all the right things to make you think that there is a desire to change and right the ship. Their words, once spoken, die in the atmosphere. There is no action on the floor to assure fans and experts alike that this team has turned up the dial.
At this point, until the Cavaliers show some level of consistent care and effort on the floor, their words are as meaningless as the basketball they are playing. The constant aloofness and lackadaisical effort are a toxic cycle that they cannot seem to talk their way out of.
The Cavaliers appear to think, given how last regular season went, that they are so good that eventually they can out-talent their way out of any bind. However, as the first 27 games have shown, it doesn’t matter how much talent you have when the effort on both sides of the ball isn’t there, even the basement dwellers of the league can and will blow your doors off.
In times like this I find myself remembering the words of Logan Roy when it comes to my thoughts on this year’s version of the Cleveland Cavaliers. “I love you, but you are not serious people”.
