Cleveland Cavaliers Suffer Bad Loss Against Mavericks
The Cleveland Cavaliers lost another bad game, this time against the Dallas Mavericks 104-97. Have they fallen back into their bad habits this fast again?
I know, it’s only one game. However, this funk the Cleveland Cavaliers are in has not been fun to witness. They have currently lost seven of 11 games and will end the month of January with a record of 7-8. That’s not what you expect to see from the defending NBA champions.
They once again played like they had no interest in the game–or playing defense. It was a big letdown after a great win against Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.
Kevin Love missed the game with back spasms, but there is still enough talent on the Cavs to overcome his loss for a few games. For whatever reason, coach Tyronn Lue likes to go small when Love misses games.
Instead of starting Channing Frye to keep opposing defenses honest, he starts James Jones or Richard Jefferson and it hurts the team early. Frye isn’t Love, but he can spread the offense out and create space like Love does.
Most opposing power forwards or centers aren’t going to guard the perimeter. Yes, the bench needs depth, but a team should do what it has to do in order to win.
Once again, LeBron James had five turnovers. He was making bad decisions and it hurt the team. Some of them were due to lack of communication on the floor as well. Kyrie Irving had the most turnovers at six.
He’s been playing on another level and was due a bad game soon. He only had 18 points on 7-for-21 shooting. He went 1-for-8 from three-point range. Irving also had a tough night guarding rookie Yogi Ferrell, who had a career-high 21 points for the Dallas Mavericks.
Tristan Thompson went scoreless in the game, but added eight rebounds. Some fans might think he’s been worth the five-year, $82 million contract, but I’m beginning to think otherwise–just as I mentioned in my previous article.
His production this season has been mediocre. It’s like watching Drew Gooden all over again. One game he’ll have 15 points and 18 rebounds, then the next contest he’ll have four points and three boards.
Inconsistency is not worth that much money, but then again Timofey Mozgov got $62 million from the Los Angeles Lakers and Allen Crabbe got $74 million for coming off the bench for the Portland Trail Blazers.
He must step it up and go back to his championship ways for this team to have a chance.
The most disappointing player to me was Kyle Korver. He’s still getting adjusted to the offense, but he’s starting to play like Mike Dunleavy. He’s hesitant to shoot the ball when he’s wide open and he makes terrible last second passes due to his indecisiveness.
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He should be much better than Dunleavy, but he’s got to stop those habits and just let his shot fly. He only had three points on 1-for-2 shooting from the field, all from long range.
It was another bad game overall for the Cavaliers. Another slow start led to the opposing team taking advantage and not looking back. I don’t want to hear “it’s the regular season” garbage. Each team plays every game to win.
It’s one thing to lose to the Memphis Grizzlies or Toronto Raptors, but to have a letdown and struggle against some of the worst teams in the NBA this season is unacceptable for a championship team.
The NBA thought they were doing the Cavs a favor with these games towards the end of the month. Apparently, they don’t think so.
They will have another tough challenge against the future Big 3 in the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. They’re another struggling, underachieving team, but they will be ready to make a statement against the Cavaliers.
This team is no longer the hunters now, they are the hunted.
