Good, bad and ugly: Assessing Cleveland Cavaliers season thus far
By Ryan Piers
The bad: Blowout losses to good teams
At nearly the quarter pole, reality might be staring the Cleveland Cavaliers in the face. They are a couple steps to a few giant leaps behind the NBA’s good teams.
Apart from the young guards playing well, Kevin Love is crafting his best season since his 2016-17 All-Star year. Tristan Thompson and Larry Nance Jr. are averaging career-highs in points. Jordan Clarkson is off to the best start of his career.
A lot of guys are playing well. Yet, Cleveland is 5-14 and in 13th place in the Eastern Conference. They’ve also had the fourth-toughest schedule in the NBA. To put it maybe too simply, Cleveland is playing well, but losing to good teams. The bad news is they’re not just losing, but getting slaughtered by playoff contenders.
On Nov. 22, Cleveland lost by 42 points to Dallas. That followed a 24-point loss to Miami and a 19-point loss to Philadelphia.
These highlights against Dallas are horrific. But that’s one game. There have been other ugly moments this season.