The Cleveland Cavaliers were treading water for most of Tuesday night.
They failed to hold their own vs. the defending NBA champions, falling to 1-2 vs. the Boston Celtics this season.
They were able to keep it close down the stretch, but the game was much more one-sided than what the final score would suggest.
According to NBA analyst John Sabol, it came down to two factors: Turning the ball over too many times and Evan Mobley’s poor shooting night.
Too many turnovers + Poor shooting especially from Evan Mobley = too big of a hole to climb out of for the #Cavs tonight against Boston.#Celtics win 112-105 to improve to 2-1 against the Cavaliers.
Next BOS-CLE matchup: Friday, Feb 28 in Beantown@fox8news
— John Sabol (@John_Sabol) February 5, 2025
Mobley had one of his worst games of the season.
The USC product finished the game with just seven points on 3-of-14 shooting, and he even missed all of his attempts from beyond the arc.
The Cavs had one more turnover than the Celtics (13) and were careless with the ball in the first half.
There were some encouraging signs despite the loss.
They made some strong defensive adjustments in the second half, even holding Jaylen Brown scoreless and getting him off the court down the stretch after he scored 16 points in the first half.
Nevertheless, this is still a worrisome trend.
Teams with athletic wings continue to pose a big threat and matchup nightmare for Kenny Atkinson’s team.
There’s not too much time left to address that issue before the trade deadline, and there might not be a suitable candidate in the buyout market.
Of course, you don’t want to overreact when you have the best record in the league, but this team clearly isn’t perfect by any means.
NEXT: Fans React To Cavs' Loss To Celtics
