The Cleveland Cavaliers have lost four of their last five games, including one against the short-staffed Charlotte Hornets. That loss seemed to be a wake-up call for many fans, but was it for the team too?
Speaking on ESPN Cleveland, Tony Rizzo didn’t hold back about the Cavs. He pleaded with the team to play some defense and said he saw a lot of “standing around” during their shocking defeat against Charlotte.
To make matters worse, the Cavs are about to battle against a squad that has been incredibly difficult.
“I wanna see effort. I’m not saying you have to win by 20, but what I saw in Charlotte was just… looked like a lot of standing around. How about some D? Play some D. I don’t have a lot of confidence. I have more confidence in them than you guys do, but I just don’t have confidence against the Knicks. The Knicks, for whatever reason, have our number,” Rizzo said.
Both Rizz and @HammerNation19 want to see way more effort from the Cavs against the Knicks tonight. pic.twitter.com/3cO4aVFYag
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) November 11, 2026
The lack of defense is debilitating this team. As mentioned by Rizzo, there were plenty of moments during the Charlotte game when the squad just looked unmotivated and flat-footed. They didn’t move with the speed needed, especially when facing off against a younger team.
And the Hornets didn’t even have their best players on the floor. That makes matters even worse because the Cavs got taken down by a majority of bench players.
The New York Knicks have been a nightmare for the Cavs recently, including just a few days ago when they took them down 109-97. Now, Cleveland is preparing to battle them again because they are headed to Madison Square Garden to take on the reigning champions. It doesn’t take an NBA expert to recognize that this is going to be a tough game.
Losing isn’t always shameful, but it is when the team doesn’t even try. The Cavaliers already have it tough with some of these games because they have been competing against daunting threats. But they are making matters worse by playing without a fire in their bellies.
According to Rizzo, they need to show more effort, and they need to show it now.
NEXT: One Stat Shows How Bad The Cavs’ Starters Have Been
