CLEVELAND, Ohio — The best offense in basketball can’t make a shot. A “defense-first” team allowed 102 points in three quarters. And the Eastern Conference’s best team trails 3-1 in a playoff series against a No. 4 seed.
To which I would reply: We’ve seen them before, even if it‘s been a while.
I recognized Cleveland’s embarrassing Game 4 performance from last year’s disastrous playoff road trip to Orlando. Does that jog your memory?
Remember the team that lost two games by 30.5 points on average after taking a 2-0 lead? Remember how that team would crumble so quickly during Magic runs?
Those Cavs suited up again in Indianapolis on Sunday night, and as hard as they’ve worked to shed their old playoff labels, Cleveland earned them again with … whatever that was.
Too Donovan Mitchell-reliant? Hard to argue after Mitchell scored 40 points in back-to-back games, then Cleveland fell apart after one subpar half (12 points, 2 for 9 shooting) from its best player.
Regular-season team? If a team wins 64 games, then (big “then”) lose in five games during the second round, as Cleveland could on Tuesday night, it fits the definition.
Mentally fragile? Too personal a criticism from where I’m sitting. But if I never hear another Cavs player say “we let our defense affect our offense” again, it‘ll be too soon. Yes, the Pacers made more shots on Sunday. But they also responded better when they missed. That‘s part of this game, too.
Of course, injuries played a role in Game 4 and this series at large. But when a team loses in the playoffs — and particularly when it falls behind by 40 — it also loses the benefit of context. I’m sure Darius Garland’s toe, Evan Mobley’s ankle and De’Andre Hunter’s thumb all bothered each player on Sunday night.
But personally, I’m more troubled by how much these Cavs resembled the team that traveled to Orlando last spring.