Through 38 regular-season games, the Cleveland Cavaliers have 33 wins.
However, even though the team is almost at the midpoint of the campaign, Sunday night’s loss to the Indiana Pacers featured a first for the team this season.
As Evan Dammarell pointed out on X, this was the first time the Cavaliers had not scored 100 points in a game this year.
This loss to the Pacers was the first time the #Cavs were held to less than 100 points this season.
Indiana continues to smother opponents.
— Evan Dammarell (@AmNotEvan) January 13, 2025
The Cavs hit the ground running and were up by double digits for most of the first half.
They couldn’t keep that same defensive intensity in the second half.
More than that, their shot-making also regressed drastically.
Rick Carlisle’s team kept pushing the pace over and over.
Once again, the Cavs struggled to get going against a team with depth and size at the wings, and that will be a worrisome issue come playoff time.
Only four teams have beaten the Cavs this season, and three of them (Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks, and now Pacers) have the same personnel formula.
With the trade deadline closing in, the Browns must add more wing-stoppers and size at the three.
They won’t have much time to recover from this tough loss, as they will face the Pacers again on Tuesday night, this time on the road.
That game will show whether it was a personnel-related issue or the Cavs simply had a rare off night.
It’s unsustainable to win every game of the season, but you never want to lose consecutive games to the same opponent, much less knowing that you could potentially face them early in the playoffs.
NEXT: Donovan Mitchell Reveals His Thoughts On Loss To Pacers
