Losing Streak for Cavaliers Continues
On Friday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the New Orleans Pelicans in overtime, and did not leave there until after midnight.
They did not arrive in their Miami hotel on Saturday until nearly 5 a.m. The team likely did not get that much rest before their Saturday night game against the Miami Heat, which resulted in a 99-84 loss.
If the turnaround from one game to the next was not enough for Cleveland players to handle, they also played without Iman Shumpert, Kyrie Irving and LeBron James, who was rested by David Blatt after he played a season high 45 minutes versus the Pelicans.
The Saturday game at Miami was an excellent example of what people around the NBA call a scheduled loss, which is a reality in the 82-game season that teams will never accept but will be quick to acknowledge off the record.
However, with all that having been said, another reality about Cleveland is becoming evident following their third straight loss and sixth in their past 11 games after starting the season 8-1. They are in a big rut and no one on the team seems to want to accept that truth.
Kevin Love should be the go to man on the court if Irving and James are on the bench. However, on Saturday Love scored just 5 points and grabbed 8 rebounds, while playing just 23 minutes.
When Love was asked about the quick turnaround on the road, he said the first half of the game is very tough after going to overtime the night before.
Matthew Dellavedova a guard for Cleveland called the back-to-back games more of a mental issue than physical. He believes the team’s slump can be fixed now without waiting until players like James or Irving return to the lineup.
J.R. Smith a shooting guard for Cleveland may have the best answer to the questions about what is wrong with his team. He said the team might just be getting lax thinking they are Cleveland with LeBron, Love, Kyrie and Shumpert and others and not playing as hard as they might against a team that is considered not all that tough.
He added that for a team that is not considered a contender, getting a win over Cleveland is huge and that makes them all the hungrier to go out and beat the Cavs, while the Cleveland players look at it as an easier game and are possibly not as focused.
However, there are still 60 games to be played and Cleveland coaches, players or fans should not be getting worried so soon over the quality of play or wins and losses.
That worry should take place in March or April if the team starts to slide, but not in December.
