Coming into their game on Thursday night versus the Portland Trail Blazers, the Cleveland Cavaliers looked to be set for a win.
Portland had won two of three games heading into that one, but for a Cavaliers team starting to figure things out and getting much healthier, that was a game against a rebuilding team they appeared to have.
It didn’t play out that way, though.
The Cavs held a 46-40 lead going into halftime, but they couldn’t get into a rhythm with much consistency in the game, and the Blazers’ third quarter surge put them in position to take control in the fourth. They cleaned up their turnover issue which earlier played into Cleveland's lead, and behind a big second half, a 29-point effort from Shaedon Sharpe and Cleveland’s sloppiness, Portland would take the road W 103-95.
The Cavs had 17 turnovers, and shot just 21.9 percent from three. It was anything like the Cavaliers’ blowout win on Tuesday night over the Atlanta Hawks, when Cleveland had a 128-105 win.
Regardless, it’s a terrible L to take to a team at likely the start of a rebuild for the Cavs, who had come into the game winning six of their last eight games. Now, though, the Cavaliers have to shift their focus to their upcoming December games and try to regain momentum after that awful loss.
The Cavs have to move on from Thursday's dud quick, and in December, must play with a sense of urgency and be on-point to establish some consistency.
Thursday's game was a complete dud for the Cavs. Following that, the Blazers are 6-12 on the season, and they've had their share of injuries, and have had Anfernee Simons in one singular game.
Despite that, and them being at home and concluding a homestand, the Cavaliers threw the ball away too much, and easy live-ball chances helped get the Blazers going. They made plays, and Portland won that game; it's just those type of frustrating Ls that at this point, the Wine and Gold can't be taking.
Sure, it's a long season, and going into that game, one would've expected the Cavs to eventually handle business. Darius Garland and Cleveland looked to be turning the corner as a group, too.
That said, while some bad losses are bound to happen, with the team getting much healthier of late, and that being a game where they were the much better team, there's no excuse for that kind of lackluster effort. Following the game, Donovan Mitchell did ensure this group will be just fine, however, he did it starts with him, and he also emphasized how that loss to Portland was the "worst game" of the season. From there, J.B. Bickerstaff's postgame presser was very brief.
“This was the worst loss of the season. So, that’s it. Let’s go. It starts with me.”#Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell on the mindset moving forward after calling this a championship-level group.
— Evan Dammarell, Spotify Alchemist (@AmNotEvan) December 1, 2023
It was one game, and human nature can lead to some instances where one would think teams have a game chalked up as a W. This isn't to say the Cavs did that here, and they know they have to show up and show out, no matter the circumstances, but from a fan's perspective, everybody would've expected this last one to be a win. It just didn't happen.
From here, though, it's imperative that the Wine and Gold play with a sense of urgency game-in and game-out in December, they cleaner basketball and continually establish themselves as the aggressors in games.
Of course, injuries haven't helped, and some games, threes aren't going to drop. Those things aside, and with the team getting healthier even more so now, however, it's now time for Garland, Mitchell and the Cavaliers to play to their standard, and find ways to clean some things up.
On the plus side, this Cavs team has been playing much better, and they've beaten top-notch squads such as the Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers recently. While added games next week against the Orlando Magic and then at the Miami Heat are going to be tough, and having two matchups versus the Boston Celtics on the road are going to be difficult, this Cavs team has the talent, and they've shown they can rise to the occasion.
It's just now time to play as a cohesive unit, and have a heightened sense of urgency, beginning with Saturday's game at the lowly Detroit Pistons. This Cleveland team is 10-9 on the year, which, given this club's talent level, is far from good enough. The Cavs have to get going here soon.