King James Gospel
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Cleveland Cavaliers week in review: The case for a Thomas trade, the Cavaliers’ lost identity, and the threat of the Boston Celtics

By Jason Timpf

CLEVELAND, OH - NOVEMBER 1: Head Coach Tyronn Lue of the Cleveland Cavaliers talks with the players during a time at during the game against the Indiana Pacers on November 1, 2017 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - NOVEMBER 1: Head Coach Tyronn Lue of the Cleveland Cavaliers talks with the players during a time at during the game against the Indiana Pacers on November 1, 2017 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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CLEVELAND, OH – JANUARY 15: JR Smith #5 of the Cleveland Cavaliers protests a call during the game against the Golden State Warriors at Quicken Loans Arena on January 15, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.(Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH – JANUARY 15: JR Smith #5 of the Cleveland Cavaliers protests a call during the game against the Golden State Warriors at Quicken Loans Arena on January 15, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.(Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

What happened to the blue-collar identity once proudly worn by the Cavaliers?

Remember when Matthew Dellavedova shut down Stephen Curry in Game 2 of the 2015 NBA Finals? Remember what David Blatt said about him after the game?

“Delly is the most Cleveland-like Australian I’ve ever met in my life,” Blatt had said. Dellavedova exerted himself so completely that he had developed a severe enough case of cramps to send him to the hospital.

Those injury-riddled Cavaliers pushed the Golden State Warriors to their limit with stifling defense and a bruising offensive attack led by LeBron James. This despite deploying a roster stigmatized as inadequate defensively.

Those same Cavaliers went on to be a top-ten defense in the NBA the following season, eventually winning their first title in franchise history.

How did the Cavaliers manage this against the vaunted 73-win Warriors? A blue-collar identity. Obviously, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving were incredible, but beneath that icing was a cake made of unmatched work ethic.

This was an ethos bred among the tough-minded folks who make up Cleveland’s populace. Unfortunately, that ethos has been missing ever since.

These days, the Cavaliers can’t be bothered to try for half of a game, let alone 48 minutes. Two days after finally getting back on the winning track against Indiana, the Cavs looked lifeless in the first half against Detroit.

I don’t know where this identity went. The Cavaliers need to find it to have any hope of a second title.

It’s not the kind of thing that can be achieved with a roster move or a coaching change. It is a change that must take place on an individual level. Each player must look in the mirror and decide to care about things he hasn’t cared about to this point.

The second half against Detroit was a good start. Head coach Ty Lue went with Channing Frye and Kyle Korver — his best role players by any advanced metric — and the identity returned, if for just a moment. Cleveland held Detroit to just 43 points in the second half for their most convincing win in almost two months.

The next step? Having these bursts of poor effort be the unusual, rather than the usual as they have been.