The Cleveland Cavaliers’ weird season continues. They have struggled since the All-Star break, but still are in third place in the Eastern Conference, and amazingly are just a game and a half behind the second place Milwaukee Bucks.
Of course, they are also just a half game ahead of fourth place New York, while Orlando has slid to two and a half games behind Cleveland.
Still, that doesn’t make Wednesday loss on the road to a terrible Charlotte team any more palatable, and it doesn’t exactly give fans a warm and fuzzy feeling with the playoffs just a couple of weeks away.
J.B. Bickerstaff has always talked about the Cavs being defensive minded, but the lowly Hornets blistered Cleveland, particularly from inside the three-point line, where they made 31 of 43 shots, a 72% clip.
The thing that came up again to fans and media alike is this word, “toughness”. Or the lack of it from the wine and gold.
When the Cavaliers win, they always talk about togetherness, having fun, and sharing. They also like to refer to themselves as a young team. That’s getting old (no pun intended).
Evan Mobley is 22, but he’s been in the NBA for three seasons. Isaac Okoro is 23, but this is his fourth year. Darius Garland is 24, but in his fifth NBA campaign.
And those are the only guys under 25 getting regular playing time.
Jarrett Allen is 25, Dean Wade, Max Strus, Donovan Mitchell, and Sam Merrill are 27 years old. The young team excuse should be off the table and the coaching staff and organization should stop coddling them.
It’s time for Bickerstaff to stop calling timeout every time the opponent scores three baskets in a row. When Phil Jackson coached, he was famous for not calling timeouts, instead giving his players instructions to figure it out themselves. That’s how you build toughness and accountability.
In that game, Garland, who we have criticized for being careless with the ball, turned it over three times in the first five minutes. Why not take him out of the game after that? Hate to sound like a parent, but there are consequences for actions.
And Marcus Morris, who received the Cavs’ chain for his tough play in Monday’s win, didn’t even get off the bench for the loss on Wednesday. That’s how being tough and physical is awarded in the organization?
It’s long since the time to take the “training wheels” off for this group. They are old enough and been around long enough for the organization to be looking for accountability from this squad.
Perhaps there is a different message in the locker room and at practice. Publicly, it’s beginning to sound like rhetoric.
We’ve said it earlier this season, but the regular season isn’t how the Cavaliers are going to be judged, but it is important to get home court advantage for as many rounds as possible. That’s because this group hasn’t had any playoff success.
The Miami Heat should be the model used for being tough, and it’s not weakness to point to another organization as a guide.
How often do you think Erik Spoelstra talks about having fun?
Cleveland Sports Perspective 