Throughout the entire 2025-26 regular season, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been battling just to stay out of the dreaded Play-In Tournament.
With a current 21-18 record, the Cavs sit seventh in the Eastern Conference, right below the six-seeded Miami Heat. Cleveland's tribulations first spawned from injury woes to key players like Darius Garland and Max Strus. Those two injuries quickly snowballed into a greater injury problem across the roster as players went down trying to cover for the absences.
Evan Mobley has missed time, Jarrett Allen has been injured. Both Sam Merrill and Jaylon Tyson have been in and out of the list of available players. The inconsistent options for any lineup has led to 21 different starting lineups through just 39 games. The Cavaliers have certainly faced horrible injury luck to begin the year, but as they've gotten healthier, their worst problems still persist.
Regardless of the Cavs' 64 wins last regular season, their losses are coming from the same source as every loss last year did. Cleveland's problems are not new. In fact, that's the worst and most frustrating part about it. With lofty expectations, the Cavaliers simply do not put in the effort or intensity needed to win at the highest levels.
The Cavaliers are far too often comfortable playing down to the level of their opponent and taking switching to cruise control far before the game is over.
Feeling the same as many fans, Ohio native and ESPN analyst Brian Windhorst berated the Cavs' efforts in the latest episode of "5 Good Minutes with Windy" on ESPN Cleveland.
"This is not about injuries anymore. Obviously they've been limited because of injuries, and there's certain nights especially. ... [Kenny Atkinson] is trying like crazy to get consistent effort."Brian Windhorst
Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson has been pacing up and down the sidelines this season, screaming and demanding more effort, but few have responded. Windhorst noted Donovan Mitchell's supreme season, ensuring that his comments are not targeted at him. Aside from Mitchell, a select number of Cavs have shown determination to win.
The Cavaliers are not a serious contender mentally
Cleveland has lost in the playoffs in embarrassing fashion three years in a row. Each time, the same reason has been given, and fans are sick of hearing it.
The Cavaliers just "weren't ready" for the mental toughness needed to win in the postseason.
When is that toughness going to happen? When will analysts like Windhorst and others get to stop praising the talent on the team but disparaging the lack of interest in playing hard?
This season, the Cavaliers are allowing opponents to shoot a league-high 38.2 percent on three-pointers on 36.6 attempts per game. Defensive rotations have been lackluster at best, often doubling players and losing track of assignments unnecessarily. Cleveland's defense can quickly fracture and turn into a confusing, underwhelming scramble even in the halfcourt.
The Cavs have relied on Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen to manage the brunt of all defensive duties. Cleveland's perimeter defense is built to funnel players off the arc and into the paint where one or both of Mobley and Allen sit waiting. Now, though, teams are breaking down the Cavs' perimeter defense and generating wide-open looks with ease.
That defense collapses worst in the second quarter. Cleveland has been the league's worst team in the second quarter, and it simply isn't close. Scoring the sixth-fewest points in the second period (27.6), the Cavs are allowing the the second-most points (31.1) on the other end. The 10-27 Washington Wizards are the only team allowing more with 31.5 allowed in the period.
Cleveland's identity is crumbling in real time
For a team built on a defensive identity, the Cavaliers' horrendous defensive effort and hustle are unacceptable, and it is increasingly hard to believe that these recurring problems will be fixed internally.
Perhaps the most glaring problem is the Cavaliers' dismal rebounding efforts. The Cavs are allowing 11.6 offensive rebounds per game, tied for the 10th-most across the league. Their defensive rebounding percentage (68.4) ranks the 11th-worst this year.
The Cavaliers have maintained the core four based on advanced analytics showing progression and positive results. The core four is healthy now, but the results are not improving. Mobley has regressed offensively this season with inefficient scoring and many passive games.
Although the Cleveland Cavaliers haven't admitted it, these problems are at the core of the team. This is not a flaw. It is part of their identity. Rebounding has been a constant thorn in their side, and falling behind early only to have to crawl back to a victory late has been common.
If the Cavaliers organization wants effort, it probably won't manifest by ignoring the personnel issues that cause it.