The Cleveland Cavaliers have slipped two games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder for the best record in the NBA, and if they are to finish with the league’s best overall record, they will have to get hot in their remaining 10 regular-season games.
They just completed a difficult five-game West Coast road trip, during which they won just two games and had inexcusable losses to the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns.
While head coach Kenny Atkinson is likely disappointed with how that trip went, he said the health of his players is the most important thing right now, per Daryl Ruiter.
Kenny Atkinson on #Cavs being 2-3 in their last 5 games and coming off a tough road trip + hope for final 10 games of the regular season pic.twitter.com/lD6h4cFEPv
— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) March 27, 2025
Perhaps the biggest culprit for the Cavs during their recent four-game losing streak that stretched into the first three games of that road trip was their defense, which has been strong for most of this season.
They gave up 123 apiece to the Kings and Suns, and they surrendered 132 points to the Los Angeles Clippers in the first game of that trip.
On the season, Cleveland ranks eighth in defensive rating, but for the month of March, they’re just 14th in that category.
Even their offense has slipped a bit — in March, they’re ninth in offensive rating, seventh in points per game and 20th in overall field-goal percentage.
On the season, they rank first, second and second, respectively, in those categories.
Cleveland will have a very winnable game on Thursday versus the Spurs, but afterward, they will face the Detroit Pistons, Clippers and New York Knicks, three teams looking to make some real noise come playoff time.
NEXT: Analyst Praises Cavs For How They Handled Losing Streak
