Frustration builds after Cavs drop third straight: ‘We’re in cruise control’

The Cavaliers had championship expectations. Right now, they’ve got play-in results.

Cleveland fell to 12-9 after Sunday night’s home loss to the Celtics, and the mood afterward matched the record.

Players are frustrated. The crowd is restless. And second-year wing Jaylon Tyson didn’t sugarcoat anything, via Cleveland.com’s Ethan Sands.

“I just think we’re in cruise control,” Tyson said. “As a team, I think that we’re not hungry enough. What happened to us last year, it’s a similar thing that’s happening this year.

“Getting ran out the gym. Getting beat on the glass. Toughness, right? It’s a common theme and ultimately it’s on us to fix it.

“We have three of some of the best players in the NBA. Our starting five, I’ll put them up with anybody. But talent don’t win championships. It’s all the little stuff, the grittiness, the hunger.”

Injuries have piled up again. Larry Nance Jr. will miss three-to-four weeks with a right calf strain. Jarrett Allen is out at least a week with a right finger strain. Sam Merrill has missed five straight with a hand sprain.

But Boston was shorthanded too — no Derrick White, no Neemias Queta — and still built a 21-point lead on the second night of a back-to-back.

“Everyone wants to be better, everyone wants to win,” Evan Mobley said after a 27-point, 14-rebound night. “But right now we’re not. We got to find a way. Frustration might help, honestly.”

Last year’s 64-win team has been replaced by something far more uneven. Transition defense and rebounding remain constant issues.

Too many players wait for someone else to take control. And the questions about toughness that surfaced in the Indiana series haven’t disappeared.

Kenny Atkinson stayed calm afterward — “the sky is not falling,” he said — but the patterns are hard to ignore. The bench sparked another rally. The starters dug another hole. And Tyson didn’t hide how he feels about that dynamic, either.

“It shouldn’t be us having to bring energy every time,” he said. “Everybody has to bring energy. Everybody has to pour into this thing.”

Internally, the Cavs keep saying they’re close. Externally, the cracks keep showing up.