The Cleveland Cavaliers are riding a three-game winning streak, but the eye test hasn't met the results. In fact, there's not that much pride in taking down the Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, and New Orleans Pelicans. In fact, there was no way to justify losing to the Dallas Mavericks three games ago.
Kenny Atkinson's team may have peaked too early. They've given up 130, 116, 110, and 106 points in their last four games, with their three wins coming for seven, five, and five points, respectively. Their defensive rating (114.3) is 13th in the league, and teams outside of the top 10 rarely win a championship.
There's still more than enough time to course-correct and get back on track. This team showed what they were capable of during their hot stretch after the trade deadline, but they need to do some soul-searching right now.
Cavaliers can't afford to get complacent now
The Cavaliers always know what they're going to get from James Harden and Donovan Mitchell. To a degree, they also know what to expect from Evan Mobley, who's going to give the team 17 and eight with a couple of blocked shots. He has yet to take a leap and probably never will, but his floor is high enough to be a third go-to guy on a contending team.
However, things kind of tumble after that.
Dennis Schroder is going through a brutal patch after his strong start to his Cavs tenure, failing to score 10 points in eight consecutive games and shooting 32.6 percent from the floor and 23.1 percent from beyond the arc during that span. The honeymoon phase is clearly over, and he went from an offensive catalyst to a liability in the blink of an eye.
Notably, the Cavs' defense regressed as soon as Jarrett Allen suffered a knee injury. He's been out for three weeks now, and even though the team has gone 5-3 in that span, they clearly miss his presence on both sides of the glass. There's still no timetable for his return, and not having him in the playoffs could be a death sentence.
The Cavs have 11 regular-season games left, and they hold a comfortable four-game lead over the five-seeded Toronto Raptors. That said, they can't afford to enter the postseason in a slump. Atkinson must figure out how to get this team trending in the right direction again for when it matters most.