The Cleveland Cavaliers are locked in at the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference. They didn't seem too eager to fight the New York Knicks for No. 3, even though Mike Brown's team left the door wide open for them to take it.
However, Brian Windhorst believes that it's not that they didn't want to be better; it's that they're not that good. Talking on "The Hoops Collective," Windhorst questioned the team ahead of the first round of the playoffs.
While he acknowledged that the Cavs are pretty banged up as they approach the finish line, they can't ignore the fact that they've beaten mostly bad teams recently, and they have struggled against them anyway.
Brian Windhorst isn't too impressed with the Cavs
"The Cavs are really only in fourth place because they've beaten tankers over the past two weeks," Windhorst said. "All of their wins against the tankers have been unimpressive, including against the Pacers."
Of their past ten games, the Cavs have only faced one opponent with a better record than them (Los Angeles Lakers) and they lost to it. Granted, they've gone 8-2, but they only have two win by double digits, one coming against the 25-55 Memphis Grizzlies.
Of course, they also deserve plenty of credit for their recent comeback win over the Atlanta Hawks. They're a potential first-round matchup and a team that could've given them a lot of trouble because of their big, ball-handling wings, and they approached it like a playoff contest.
That being said, you never want to slump your way to the playoffs. You want your team to peak at the right time, and it doesn't look like the Cavaliers are playing their best basketball of the season with just two regular-season games left.
Dennis Schroder has been borderline unplayable for the past three weeks or so, Jarrett Allen hasn't been as aggressive since he returned from injury, and Evan Mobley has always been pretty much hit or miss on a night-to-night basis.
All in all, the Cavs are just 27-23 vs. teams above .500, 24-6 vs. teams with a losing record, and 0-3 in overtime. That's not necessarily the mark of a team with championship aspirations. The Cavs, like many other great teams before them, have endured major growing pains in the playoffs. Sometimes, teams need to experience heartbreak to regroup, grow, and avoid repeating their mistakes.
Kenny Atkinson's team certainly fits that bill, but until they finally show some teeth and prove that they can hold their own against winning teams, it'll be almost impossible to give them the benefit of the doubt.