Cavaliers Drop Another in Lackluster Effort

This is getting old quickly.

These guys just don’t get it. They don’t understand their potential. And they seem to be settling for mediocrity. It is frustrating to no end.

Sure, I do understand the fact that LeBron James is no longer in wine & gold. I do. But, as Byron Scott has said all along, this team has more talent than just about any other team he has ever been a part of. And we are now more than a quarter of the way through this season. Stop making excuses!

It is no longer that the Cavaliers are adjusting to life without LeBron. That period is long gone. It isn’t that they are introducing themselves to Scott’s new style of offense. That period, too, is long gone. It all boils down to the simple fact that a lot of these guys don’t believe in themselves. They are quite content to lose by 15 points to the Houston Rockets. The Houston freakin’ Rockets! It’s ridiculous. There is no excuse for getting your clock cleaned by teams like the Timberwolves and the Rockets. No excuse.

To me, this is make or break time for the Cleveland Cavaliers. It is either time for someone to reach down and grab a pair and start leading this team to victories – especially against the lesser teams in the NBA. Or just throw in the towel and let us start thinking about the future…and looking forward to baseball season. What a joke that would be, huh?

In tonight’s game, the Cavs were outrebounded 48-33. For those of you keeping track, that is a 15 point advantage in the rebounding column. And it doesn’t take talent – or even size, for that matter – to rebound the basketball. That portion of basketball comes down to will. And desire. And pride. Three things the Cavaliers seem to be lacking over the last two weeks of this young season.

The only three guys on this team that bring it every night are Antawn Jamison, Daniel Gibson and Anderson Varejao. And is it a surprise to you that the three of those guys came down with more than half of the Cavaliers rebounds? There is a reason for that.

Guys like Jawad Williams and JJ Hickson, two guys that were supposed to be key pieces to this year’s team, can’t seem to muster up the pride to leave it all out on the floor every night. Why? But you know what, my hat is off to Byron Scott. Neither one of those guys should be playing more than 20 minutes a night. They don’t have the passion it takes to lead this team to success each and every time they hit the floor. Especially Hickson.

I would much rather see a lineup filled with players like Manny Harris than have those two guys play more than 18-20 minutes a night for my team. Perhaps Harris isn’t the most talented guy on the team. But he shows up to play in the few minutes he plays a night. Same with the other three guys I mentioned before.

It is just frustrating to me that teams can score more than 100 points a night against this team on a consistent basis. There is no reason for it. No excuses. Defense, like rebounding, is about will.

I think it is about time for this team to step up and figure out who is in this thing for the right reasons. I’m tired of watching this garbage all the time. Let’s see what they’re made of tomorrow night at Oklahoma City.