For the first 4-1/2 months of the NBA season, the Cleveland Cavaliers lost 10 games. Last week, they lost four in a row. The losses are mitigated by the fact they had won the previous 16 games, so in the last 20 contests, they are 16-4, which is damn good.
However, a late season west coast trip and the playoffs are drawing near, it is likely a challenge to keep focused, and really, when it comes down to it, they need to be ready to go when the post-season starts.
Kenny Atkinson isn’t happy (nor are the players) with the four consecutive defeats, but he’s also admitted he is trying some different combinations with the post-season in mind.
The Cavs are in a shooting funk, particularly from distance. Here are their three point percentages by month, with attempts included:
October 41.1% 36.6 FGA
November 39.9% 38.3 FGA
December 41.4% 44.2 FGA
January 36.0% 42.8 FGA
February 40.7% 40.9 FGA
March 34.8% 42.5 FGA
Before this month, January was the worst shooting month for the Cavs, and coincidentally, it was their worst record at 10-5. So, we can definitely infer Cleveland’s success is based on shooting the ball well. That’s where the league gets its reputation as a “make or miss league”.
Donovan Mitchell is hitting just 18% of his threes this month compared to 37% for the entire season, and Darius Garland is making only 33% from beyond the arc, and is over 40% for the season.
Based on the fact of a smaller sample size, you have to think this is just a slump and both will get back to normalcy soon.
Mitchell is particular is tremendous taking the ball to the basket and perhaps should start with shorter shots and work his way out, but on the other hand, the most important thing for all of the Cavs is to remain healthy going into the playoffs.
During the 16 game winning streak, Cleveland gave up more than 120 points just four times, one during an overtime win over Portland. They have done it three times of the four losses.
Evan Mobley missed the first loss last Sunday and Garland missed the game in Sacramento. Isaac Okoro played just seven minutes in the loss to Orlando, and curiously De’Andre Hunter played only 20 and 22 minutes in two of the defeats.
The Cavs have two more games out west (today vs. Utah and Tuesday at Portland) before coming back home for the home stretch. They still have a five-game bulge over the Celtics for the top seed in the East, and with 12 games to play, they will likely have home court advantage for throughout the conference playoffs.
And we maintain, as we did during the 15-game streak to open the season, that nothing the Cavs accomplish during the regular season matters. We all knew this was a playoff team barring injuries.
What matters is how they will do in April and beyond. And they have plenty of time to right the ship in the last 12 contests.
It starts with breaking the losing streak, and that starts with picking up the defensive effort. It’s a long season and sometimes the players lose a bit of focus. That’s probably all it is.
But if they are the title contenders, we believe they are, they have to get back to playing the way they have all year. The players and coaching staff want the same thing.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 