Dribbles: What Went Wrong for Cavs in Cringeworthy Loss to Thunder? Well, Everything

Random dribbles following the Cavaliers’ embarrassing 134-114 road loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday. …Evan Mobley, Cavaliers, Cavs, Thunder, NBA

1. With the entire nation watching, the Cavaliers laid a big ol’ basketball egg. The Thunder had a lot to do with that. But the Cavs played a role, too.

2. This was the worst beatdown of the 40-game Kenny Atkinson era — an era that’s been defined by teamwork, hot shooting, pretty good defense and lots of overcoming nearly everything thrown the Cavs’ way.

3. On this night, the opposite of all that happened.

4. The Cavs (34-6) couldn’t shoot straight right from the start. They couldn’t stop an opposing soul — especially Thunder star and NBA MVP frontrunner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. They looked more like a bottom-dweller than the squad with the NBA’s best record (until now).

5. By the middle of the second quarter, it was over. The Thunder had built a 26-point lead and the Cavs never showed a sign of threatening after that. The entire night was very un-Cavs-like.

6. This really is the first time this season the Cavs trailed by a whole lot and stayed there. Or in this case, it actually got worse.

7. But thankfully, this is the NBA and there’s always another game. It’s not April, May or June, and no one has ever won or lost a championship in January. But still, you would’ve hoped for a better showing on TNT. The Cavs sure hoped for one.

8. To give you an idea of how thoroughly the Cavs were dominated — well, they had only allowed 119 or more points in nine of the first 39 games. But the Thunder (34-6) scored 119 after just three quarters on Thursday.

9. OKC led by 36 in the second half, making the final 24 minutes little more than utter garbage time. But it started way earlier than that. Donovan Mitchell missed six of his first seven shots. He finished 3-of-15 for eight measly points. He’s not been himself in January.

10. And nothing against Dean Wade, but you know it’s probably not a great night for the Cavs if Wade (six points) ends up outscoring Evan Mobley (five).

11. Darius Garland was the lone bright spot with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, along with a game-high nine assists. Jarrett Allen was 6-of-6 for 13 points. Everyone else pretty much played their worst game of the season.

12. Meanwhile, the Thunder looked much more like a well-oiled machine than the version we saw lose in Cleveland eight days ago. Gilgeous-Alexander erupted for 40. Lu Dort scored 22. Jalen Williams had 19. And those three went a combined 33-of-51 shooting. It felt more like 51-of-51.

13. Again, there will be nights like these. Atkinson talked about it at training camp. He warned then that the Cavs will hit a rough patch or have an ugly game at some point this season. This is the NBA and it happens to everyone. (OKC, for instance, was walloped by Milwaukee in the NBA Cup title game.)

14. But as Atkinson said back at camp, what matters is how you come out on the other side, how you respond. And mostly, if you put it all together once the playoffs start in April.

15. That said, the Cavs haven’t been great as of late. They should’ve lost at home to struggling Toronto last week. They did lose at home to Indiana — before bouncing back to win at Indiana a couple nights later. They’ve looked just OK lately.

16. But the bottom line is the bottom line, and with one game to go until the midway point, the Cavs have won 34 of their first 40. That’s downright impressive and can’t be downplayed because of one game.

17. So fans can be all up in arms over this one. The Cavaliers won’t be. They have an understanding of what it means. It means they have some things to clean up. Beyond that, the only takeaway is that they hope to see the Thunder again in June. That would mean both are in the NBA Finals.

18. In other words, so much more can and will happen before the regular season ends in April. There will be more lousy nights. There will be some really great ones, too. This for certain was one of the lousy ones. 

19. So, panic time? Hardly. Not at 34-6. Terrible all the way around? Yep. What always matters, though, is how you bounce back.

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1 COMMENT

  1. JUST,,, M barr ass ing !
    It’s NOT just about RAINING the THREE’s,,,, It’s about DRAINING the Three’s.
    & when playing the teams like OKC, or BOS,,, or really ANY NBA team,
    you can’t afford not to Drain them or it WILL cost you on the other end.
    AND IT DID !
    Ever since Strus tried the comeback( & he HAS had SOME success), the cohesiveness has NOT been there, It’s like they haven’t ever played with each other, & Donovan’s shooting is OFF every other game. Team shooting has suffered, team passing has failed, except to make turnovers worse, & the whole bench attitude seems either passive(no pun intended) or over pushing it when not open/forcing the attempts when there’s not a realistic chance of making it. It’s like there’s confusion on passing & hesitation on shots or driving into 3 collapsing defenders when OBVIOUSLY some one is OPEN.
    Nothing is seeming smooth as it has been all season. This cannot last long.
    You are right, Cringeworthy & EVERYTHING wrong.
    We will see tonight. There ARE many more challenges ahead & soon. We will see hopefully much better games.

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