It’s not usual to see the Cleveland Cavaliers lose one game, much less two in a row.
That’s why Kenny Atkinson is far from satisfied with his team’s effort right now.
Following the loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, coach Atkinson tipped his hat to his opponents, but he also put his team on blast for not playing like they’ve played all season:
“They played great,” Atkinson said. “An elite shot-making performance by them and poor defensive performance by us. Our lack of discipline and then second-chance points, we didn’t do the little things. That kind of defensive performance, you’re not surviving in a playoff atmosphere.”
The Cavs allowed the Clippers to shoot 54% from the floor and 45% from beyond the arc.
They got outrebounded by 20, with Jarett Allen being a non-factor against Ivica Zubac and finishing the game with eight points and eight rebounds, which is far below his season averages.
Donovan Mitchell struggled against the Clippers’ physicality, and that’s a worrisome trend as we approach the playoffs.
Even so, there’s still no need to sound the alarms.
This team has shown plenty of resiliency throughout the course of the season, and they most definitely have all the resources they need to beat every other team in the league.
Still, this was due to happen at some point, as they had gotten off to slow starts over and over during the last couple of weeks, and they haven’t been able to snap out of them recently.
Hopefully, these setbacks and poor late-game execution will be a timely wake-up call for them.
They’re too good, and even though they’ve already clinched a spot in the playoffs, there’s no need to just go through the motions for the rest of the regular season.
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