The Cleveland Cavaliers have lost five of their last six games, prompting questions about the rest of their season.
Entering the All-Star Break, the Cleveland Cavaliers were the darlings of the NBA. Even after losing two straight games ahead of the break they were still looked upon favorably. Cleveland had surpassed all realistic expectations for this season, receiving compliments from even the most surprising individuals. The LeBron James return 2.0 rumors started again with mixed reactions from the fanbase. Now the Cavs have lost five of their previous six games and that is a cause for concern.
While Darius Garland has missed three of the six games they have played during that span, his absence is not the sole reason the team has lost. In fact, the lone win during this stretch came without Garland and Caris LeVert for that matter. The Cavaliers most recent loss Wednesday was a gigantic gut punch. Cleveland saw the return of Garland after a short absence but ended up losing by 21 points to a Charlotte Hornets team that only saw eight minutes of play from LaMelo Ball due to foul trouble.
The drop off in defensive play has been a troubling trend as of late. The Cavaliers have allowed 115.8 points in their five losses, nearly 13 points more than their season average. If the Cavs offense was able to keep up it would be a bit different, but they are right on their season average of 106.5 points per game (106 over this span).
While the absences of some key players do matter (Garland, LeVert, Rajon Rondo, Ricky Rubio, Collin Sexton), it may be time to acknowledge that this Cavaliers team overachieved this season. This is a very young team that is exciting and has key foundational pieces in place. There were no expectations for this team and the fact they exceeded even some of the loftiest most optimistic projections had everyone excited.
That being said there is a learning curve and overall talent gap when it comes to depth. Cleveland still sits in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, but after the All-Star Break is when the season really begins. There are just 10 games left in the season and the Cavs are a near lock to be in some sort of postseason play. Their post regular season campaign may be shorter than expected after their early season surge. In the big picture and over the long haul that is more than fine, but as far as this season is concerned it may be time to temper expectations.
