Dribbles: Same old issues cost Cavs mightily against shorthanded Hornets

Random dribbles following the Cavaliers’ 124-112 road loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Monday.

1. Well, at least the Cavs are undefeated in the NBA Cup.

2. Other than that, this early season can best be described as a disappointment. Monday’s loss to an injury-riddled and struggling Hornets squad was the best example.

3. This was supposed to be an opportunity to get right. Instead, the Cavs gave Charlotte one. The Hornets arrived with the league’s worst offense and enough injuries to fill a starting lineup. They proceeded to lead by 33. So much for taking advantage of the schedule.

4. Donovan Mitchell finished with 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting. After carrying so much of the offense against the Knicks on Saturday, he couldn’t get much going here. The Cavs shouldn’t need Mitchell to score 37 to beat a depleted opponent. But when he has a quiet night, they still need to look like a functioning basketball team.

5. James Harden also scored 11, with five assists and four turnovers. Evan Mobley had nine points, three rebounds and four turnovers. That’s 31 points from the three players most responsible for making the offense work. Whatever else went wrong, the Cavs needed considerably more from their main guys.

6. But the rebounding is what makes these games especially difficult to stomach. Charlotte grabbed 17 offensive boards. Kenny Atkinson keeps acknowledging the problem. So do the players. Nobody needs another explanation of why rebounding matters. They need somebody to go get the ball.

7. And yes, the scheme deserves scrutiny. The Cavs have Mobley and Jarrett Allen, yet this keeps happening with different combinations around them. Are the big men being pulled too far from the basket? Are the guards doing enough? Whatever the answer, the current approach isn’t producing reliable results. It’s hard to have confidence in a fix when the same discussion follows so many losses.

8. The Cavs didn’t collect their first offensive rebound until late in the third quarter. Charlotte already had 11. Think about that. One team kept giving itself another chance. The other spent most of the night accepting one shot and heading back to defend. Then failing to finish that possession, too.

9. Charlotte also made 23 of 46 threes. That’s a terrific shooting night for anybody, especially a team that entered near the bottom of the league in that department. The Cavs helped with poor rotations and open looks. You don’t have to be a great shooter to appreciate a defense that gives you time to get comfortable.

10. Allen’s return was a positive. He scored 12 points, made all five shots and grabbed seven rebounds in 19 minutes after missing two games with a knee contusion. Getting him involved more would have been worth a try. There wasn’t much else working.

11. Rookie Meleek Thomas led the Cavs with 18 points, and the younger players brought some life to the proceedings late. That deserves a mention. It also raises the question of why the more established players couldn’t provide that urgency before the game got away.

12. The Cavs are now 5-6. The record itself isn’t cause for panic. The manner in which they’re arriving there is harder to dismiss. Blowing a 29-point lead in Philadelphia. Falling way behind in Oklahoma City. Getting overwhelmed in Charlotte. These road trips have featured too much basketball that a supposed contender should find unacceptable.

13. Next come the Knicks on Wednesday in New York. That’s a difficult assignment, obviously. But the Cavs can’t reserve their attention and preparation for opponents with championship credentials. Beating the teams below you is part of being one of the teams above them.

14. Nobody needs a November trade demand. The available players are good enough to give the Cavs more than this. So is the coaching staff. A run to the conference finals bought some credibility. It didn’t eliminate the need to compete the following season.

15. There are 71 games left, and yes, the Cavs have time to become considerably better. But patience doesn’t require pretending these performances are OK. They keep identifying the same problems. At some point, watching them ought to give us something different to discuss.