After a pitiful display against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers are now 6-9 in March. This is usually the point in the season where they turn things around, so can they make history repeat itself?
On Monday night, the panic button on the Cleveland Cavaliers' season was officially pushed. Well, it wasn't so much as pushed, rather it was forcefully slammed down by the hand of every Internet commenter with even the slightest bit of criticism regarding the Cavaliers' recent play.
Losing to the San Antonio Spurs is usually never something to worry too much about, but when the situation is taken into account — along with the score of the game, which was a dreary 103-74 loss in San Antonio — this isn't something the Cavaliers are even remotely unfamiliar with.
For the past two seasons, the Cavaliers have faced the same adversity and criticism that usually hits the team around this time of the season.
The defense begins to be called into question, then things such as the team's heart and "will to win" become topics of discussion, then the team drops a few games to some underachieving teams and the wheels are all but on their way to being knocked off.
Here are a few examples from Ohio.com and USA Today from almost exactly one year ago regarding the Cavaliers struggles before they would eventually win the NBA Finals.
The wheels always seem to straighten up and they do so right around the same time the playoffs are set to begin.
Is this year going to be any different? Do we have any right to believe it will be any different?
Why should fans believe that the Cavs will falter in the playoffs when they've done the exact opposite the past two seasons?
Is there a part of me that is worried that they could possibly miss out on the Finals this season?
Absolutely not. And that doesn't have much to do with their play at this very moment, because as stated earlier, we've seen this show before and we know how it ends — with the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
Mar 27, 2017; San Antonio, TX, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving (2) looks on during a free throw against the San Antonio Spurs during the first half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Am I worried that they could have a much tougher road ahead?
Once again, the answer is no. The path to the Finals will look no different than it has in years past. There is no new surprise superstar that jumped ship to a Eastern Conference contender.
There is no significant improvement in the teams that are considered the Cavaliers' biggest threat in the East.
And by significant, I mean more than the Raptors trading for Serge Ibaka or the Celtics signing Al Horford. Those signings have improved those teams, but they haven't improved them enough to take down Cleveland.
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A significant improvement would have been Paul George or Jimmy Butler joining the Celtics. Those are truly significant additions when looking at the grand scheme of things. Those are players that could help a team take down the talent that Cleveland can put out on a nightly basis.
The Cavaliers are still far and away the best team in the Eastern Conference when you look at them from a roster and potential matchup standpoint. There simply isn't a team that could compete with the depth and star power that the Cavaliers possess.
However, that doesn't mean this Cavs team isn't annoying.
We know how good they can be. We've seen it happen live for the past two years. We've seen it bring a championship back to the city of Cleveland for the first time in more than 50 years. As long as the Cavs still have their Big 3, everyone knows what they are capable of.
Which is why it becomes increasingly frustrating to watch a team with so much talent and championship potential go out and flounder around for 48 minutes before ultimately wasting their time and losing another game against a future playoff team.
It's frustrating to watch such lethargic basketball right before the most important time of the season and it's understandable why so many fans and critics want to slam on the panic button, but it hasn't yet been an indication of what's to come.
If you take out the loss to the Detroit Pistons, every loss in the month of March has been to a team that is currently in position to make the playoffs. Not necessarily ideal, but it definitely isn't a cause for concern.
Jun 19, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) celebrates with the Bill Russell MVP Trophy after beating the Golden State Warriors in game seven of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
In the 2014-15 season, the Cavaliers lost back-to-back games against the Boston Celtics in April only a few games before the playoffs started.
Exactly two weeks later, they would finish their sweep of the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.
Last year, the Cavaliers lost three of their last four games to end the regular season against the Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls and finally the Detroit Pistons on the 82nd and final game of the season.
Eleven days after that loss to the Pistons, the Cavaliers would complete another first-round sweep against (you guessed it) the Detroit Pistons.
Both of those seasons would end with the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
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LeBron James has been taking games off for rest (both on and off the court) along with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love — who is coming back from knee surgery. This rest isn't coincidence. It isn't because they are uninterested. Well, actually, it kind of is, but it isn't a coincidence.
They know how good they are and they know they can flip that switch to NBA Finals contenders in a matter of days, so why waste energy on games that ultimately don't matter?
The team is gearing up for the playoffs and the only thing NBA fans can do is sit back and hope that the signs of this team not caring is just history repeating itself.
Maybe losing the top spot in the East will get them going, or maybe they'll finish the season on a bad losing stretch — much like they have the past two years that saw them reach the NBA Finals (I'm beginning to feel like a broken record).
Either way, the Cavs are still the most talented group in the East, they have three of the NBA's best 25 players, and LeBron James has never been playing basketball at a more intelligent level than he is right now.
The Cleveland Cavaliers aren't reeling — they're just annoying the hell out of everyone — and they don't seem to care.
