It doesn't get much worse than this.
Perhaps it would have hurt less if the Cleveland Cavaliers had lost in seven games to the Toronto Raptors, as they came very close to doing. It certainly would have hurt less to lose a hardfought second round series to the No. 1 seed Detroit Pistons.
Instead, the Cavaliers staggered their way to the Eastern Conference Finals, an accomplishment that for a moment felt like something good, something they should be proud of. And then in a blink, pride turned to shame, and the Cavaliers are going home.
The Cavaliers were demolished
Giving up a 22-point lead in the fourth quarter of Game 1 was inexplicable. Losing Game 2 hurt, but wasn't outrageous. Cleveland returned home for games 3 and 4 in decent position to battle back into the series -- and instead played like a team that had no interest in winning basketball games.
The New York Knicks are a really good team. They dominated the Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers on their way to the Conference Finals. Cleveland came in as an underdog, and losing to the Knicks after an up-and-down season is not the end of the world.
Losing the way that they did, however? That was embarrassing. Every single player in the rotation and coach on the bench should be ashamed of themselves.
The Cavaliers didn't even show up in front of their home fans. In Game 3, the Knicks punked them to start the game and never looked back. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in the NBA playoffs before; down 2-0, that meant Game 3 was do-or-die. And the Cavs just rolled over.
They didn't have the fight in them. They didn't get back in transition. They were slow in rotation. The team that was supposed to play with desperation instead looked like they didn't care.
Game 4 was a disaster
If the Cavaliers had any pride, if they had the requisite mental toughness to go down swinging, if they had the leadership to point them in the right direction, they would have won Game 4. A meaningless game, perhaps, but losing in five is a lot different than being swept. It could have been something to hold onto ahead of an offseason flush with questions.
Instead, the Cavaliers played their worst game of the playoffs. The Knicks got off to a huge start, going on a 20-0 run to blow the game wide open by the start of the second quarter. A 19-point halftime deficit only grew throughout the third quarter, and most of the fourth was a mere formality as the last five guys on either bench played out the string.
In the end, it was a 130-93 Knicks victory. Add it all up, and the Cavaliers lost the series in four games by a combined 77 points. Zoom out, and the Cavaliers went 8-10 in the playoffs.
Give them some credit for making it this far. Then heap on top regret, and confusion, and bitterness, and shame. The Cavaliers were the more talented team - even than the Knicks. But they didn't play like a team that knew how to win. The Knicks outworked them, outraced them, outthought them. And it resulted in a disastrous ending to a bumpy season.
Questions await this summer. The answers will not be easy to find. And if the Cavaliers want those answers to lead to the NBA Finals, they need to take a long, hard look in the mirror. They will not like what they see.
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