The Cleveland Cavaliers continue to deal with the same old issues. They don't make the most of their opportunities to make a statement against winning teams, not even when they're facing undermanned squads.
That was the case again in the home loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Not even watching them without Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace was enough to get out of their own head and execute down the stretch.
This one may have been on Kenny Atkinson, though, as he closed out the game with Jarrett Allen off the floor, even though they were struggling with a lack of size and poor rebounding. On top of that, poor free-throw shooting may have cost them the game.
The Cleveland Cavaliers need to secure rebounds and make their free throws
While the Cavs won the second-chance point battle 24-22, they were outscored in the paint 50-22. They also gave up 15 offensive rebounds, some of which were crucial down the stretch, and were outrebounded 63-55.
As for the free throws, Atkinsno's team went just 14 of 24 from the charity stripe (58 percent), missing 10 free throws in a five-point loss. The Thunder, on the other hand, only missed two of their 23 attempts.
This has been a recurring issue with this team for years now. They're usually solid from the line until it's time to face a winning team. Even Donovan Mitchell and James Harden combined to sink just two of seven freebies; that's just unacceptable.
Granted, the Cavaliers were also down multiple key guys in this one, so one might feel tempted to cut them some slack. Again, this isn't the first time that the same issues have come back to bite Atkinson's team, yet he never seems to learn from his mistakes.
Closing out the game with Allen on the bench made no sense in this one. Even if that's his new philosophy, they were going against a jumbo Thunder lineup that's still pretty big and physical, even without Chet Holmgren.
Having Evan Mobley close out the game with four guards around him may have worked in certain circumstances, but not when the team can't secure defensive boards or get additional possessions in a close game.
The Cavs will bounce back, and they'll get into a nice run here and there. That said, they won't be a legitimate championship contender until the guys on the sidelines make the adjustments they haven't even tried to make for years.
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