Mar 29, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard C.J. Miles (0) shoots a layup as Philadelphia 76ers point guard Jrue Holiday (11) defends during the game at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Eric P. Mull-USA TODAY Sports

At this point, what is there to say about this game? The Cavaliers were up against a 76ers team tonight that had nothing to play for. They were at home. They were deflated, having lost six straight, but so was Philadelphia. Still, after a decent first half, the Cavs played dismally throughout the second half en route to a 97-87 loss. Offensively, they were a mess. Defensively, they were lost. It was a typical performance for the Cavs during this losing streak.

The first half of this game showed some promise that the Cavs could potentially have a chance to end the losing streak. The Cavs had some bright offensive runs, but couldn’t stay consistent. Luckily, though, neither could the 76ers. The teams alternated runs throughout the first half, with C.J. Miles leading the charge off the bench for the Cavs. He hit 4-of-6 and finished the half with nine points, while Shaun Livingston was playing well, holding Jrue Holiday to 2-of-7 from the field for four points, while Livingston himself had eight. Thaddeus Young was about the only consistent threat the 76ers mustered, as he had 11 points, and the teams went into halftime tied at 45.

However, that was the end of competitive play in this game for the Cavs. In the second half, the Cavaliers fell apart defensively, allowing the 76ers to completely take over the game. Jrue Holiday rebounded from his poor first half to finish 9-20 for 20 points, 5 boards, and 6 assists, while Evan Turner had 23 points and 13 rebounds, most of which came in the second half. Spencer Hawes also finished with 16 points, 11 boards, and 5 assists, as the Cavs allowed the Sixers to finish shooting 49% from the field and only forced 9 Sixer turnovers. It was a complete defensive breakdown for Cleveland, who couldn’t stop Turner or Young in particular. The Cavs had no one that could handle Young’s unique athletic abilities defensively, and Turner continually hit big shots from mid-range, to coach Doug Collins’ delight.

Mar 29, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Tyler Zeller (40) shoots over Philadelphia 76ers center Lavoy Allen (50) during the game at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Eric P. Mull-USA TODAY Sports

Offensively, the Cavs had no real presence to combat the Sixer rush. Tyler Zeller finished with 14 on 7-10 shooting, getting some good shots close to the basket. However, Wayne Ellington and Shaun Livingston couldn’t get anything going in the second half, as Livingston in particular only put up two points in the second half, and both players finished with 10 points. The Cavs just seemed very passive offensively in the second half after an early 76ers run. The game got out of hand quickly, and they had no interest in trying to come back.

Overall, it’s hard to formulate a reaction to this game. On one hand, you hate to see the Cavaliers just look completely lackadaisical on both ends of the floor, and Cleveland didn’t appear to have much interest in winning this game, which while acceptable for a team that’s tanking and has its top three players out with injury, you’d like to see the team put out a little effort than this to stop what is now a seven-game losing streak. However, for a tanking effort, the Cavs are certainly looking better than their tanking counterparts, like Charlotte or Detroit, have looked recently, so it could be worse. However, with a tanking team, as a fan, you don’t want to see your team lose every game. Just most of them. A win here and there is nice to see. That hasn’t happened lately for the Cavaliers. Oh well, hopefully Sunday, when the Cavs take on a Hornets team in New Orleans that is missing Greivis Vasquez and lost by 19 to the Heat last night, the Cavs will be able to remain competitive, and snap this losing streak.

Mar 27, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard Wayne Ellington (21) drives to the basket against Boston Celtics power forward Jeff Green (8) in the second quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

It’s fun playing the “who will show up” game with the Cleveland Cavaliers when three of your star players (I’m including Anderson Varejao because it seems he has been missing for so long that most people forget to add him to the extended list of injuries). When the Boston Celtics game to town to play the Wine and Gold, everyone had a fair chance of guessing if anyone at all would help the Cavaliers get out of their fifth slump of losing more than four games in a row this season.

After getting off to a sluggish start that included members of the Celtics tearing through the lane and getting easy buckets, Boston was out to an early 12-9 lead when Cleveland called their first timeout so Tyler Zeller and Tristan Thompson could collect themselves. Things didn’t finish as well as Coach Byron Scott discussed in the huddle, and that was due to the poor shooting from the struggling shooting guards. Wayne Ellington (1-of-6), Daniel Gibson (0-of-1) and C.J. Miles (1-of-3) – all who have played ineffective basketball since Dion Waiters went out – were all hard to watch in the first quarter and were too predictable with their shot selection.

The first quarter ended with a Marreese Speights’ buzzer-beater two pointer being waved off after referees took a long time making a call on the play. Cleveland was only down by six points after the first 12 minutes, which in my opinion was a victory for this team who struggled immensely from the field from the start. Both the Cavaliers and the Celtics made seven shot attempts in the first frame, but it was Boston’s ability to get to the line late that gave them the advantage.

Once the second quarter began, it looked like the same old story meaning that the Cavs would be in for a long night after some cold shooting. An 11-5 run spanning the first four-plus minutes of play resulted in another Byron Scott timeout. A nice defensive stand that cut Boston’s lead back to six was just what Cleveland needed to get back into the game with their best healthy player shockingly underperforming. With Kevin Garnett out and the offensive success that Tristan Thompson has had this season against Boston (averaging 16.0 points).

Thompson finished the half scoreless, but Cleveland had narrowed the gap to just a one-point Boston lead. Both teams are on different ends of the spectrum of the NBA world, but injury problems have plagued the Celtics on the Cavaliers in two very different seasons for these teams. Boston, with their age, seems to be heading toward a downward trend, while Cleveland looked like one of the most improved teams for a short minute when Kyrie Irving and Waiters were both healthy. Out of the four players from the last two draft classes, Tyler Zeller was the player to show up against a depleted Boston frontcourt and with Irving and Waiters in their suits and ties.

Zeller had one of his best performances in a half of basketball all season, balancing for nine points (4-of-5 from the field) and eight rebounds – very Tristan-Thompson like numbers at the half. With the team on a five-game losing streak, who would’ve thought the awkward center from North Carolina – who has been beat up all season long – would’ve willed his team to a hot second half start.

After going on a tear led by Ellington (!), Cleveland took the lead and extended it to 12 points after going on a 21-8. Although Scott was not happy with the team’s performance down the stretch in the third quarter, the team still came out firing in the fourth to try and end their five-game skid. In fact, both teams were fighting to end losing streaks of the same amount. The question was, who wanted it more? The Cavaliers’ playoff hopes have been lost for sometime and Boston, despite a tough stretch lately, looks to be safe with securing a spot in the postseason. Different reasons to win and different motivation to as well.

As if this game couldn’t get any more weird with the players who were helping will the Cavs to victory, Miles and Gibson hit threes to open up the fourth and a 79-70 lead. Boston looked tired and confused, but we’ve seen meltdowns worse than this from Cleveland this season – would it happen again?

With the lead up to 14 points at one point in the waning minutes of the game, Boston fought back to keep the game within reach. With under three minutes to go in the game and the Celtics on the verge of building up a big run with their inside game, the lead was down to six and it looked like the same meltdown that we have known the Cavaliers to have.

With a Cleveland turnover with less than two minutes to go, the defense needed to step up. Once again Boston went to the hole and Jeff Green finished with an and-one drive, narrowing the lead to one point. Shaun Livingston came up with a block on Green and Cleveland played solid defense on Boston’s final possession to try and close out the Celtics with less than 10 seconds left on the clock and up by just one point.

But Jeff Green, who had 21 points, five rebounds and five assists, did what he had done all night and drove down the lane to beat the Cavs at the buzzer, 92-91. The unlikely heroes — Zeller and Ellington — showed up in opposite halves, resulting in a loss.

Mar 22, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Tyler Zeller (40) in action against the Houston Rockets in the third quarter at the Toyota Center. The Rockets defeated the Cavaliers 116-78. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Having been off since Saturday, the Cleveland Cavaliers will go into tonight’s game with their longest time off since the All-Star break. And considering the Cavaliers will continue to be without Dion Waiters and Kyrie Irving, they are going to need to be well rested against the Boston Celtics. Even without Rajon Rondo, the Celtics are still a playoff team in the Eastern Conference. And so, they are the clear favorite in tonight’s game against the Cavaliers.

Opponent’s Blog:  Hardwood Houdini

Venue: Quicken Loans Arena

Tipoff: 7 p.m.

Betting Line: Celtics by 2.5

Where you can watch: Fox Sports Ohio

Where you can listen: WTAM (1100), WFUN (970 AM)

For the Cavaliers to win this game look for them to run the offensive through the post and try to get someone going. It doesn’t particularly matter who it is – someone is just going to have to get going. This could be key, as the strong defender Kevin Garnett will be sitting out on Tuesday. Tristan Thompson, who has played well offensively against the Celtics this season, will be the guy to look for in the paint tonight. It’s also going to be key for Tyler Zeller to run the floor, play physical and get his buckets.

Another key player tonight is C.J. Miles. The shooting guard, who is only shooting 42.4 percent over these last 10 games, is going to be one of the go-to options for the Cavaliers tonight. Expect Shaun Livingston to look to set up Miles and Wayne Ellington for a large amount of wing three pointers.

In theory, the Cavaliers will win this game by running the floor and shooting the three well. They will also need to rebound well and stop the Celtics from getting up into the paint consistently in order to win the game.

For Boston, Jeff Green has been the star as of late. The Georgetown product, a player who has been inconsistent at times, has become Boston’s second option after Paul Pierce. Pierce and Green are likely going to score in oodles, as only Alonzo Gee is a strong defender for the Cavaliers.

Boston’s biggest weakness is their rebounding. At 29^th in the league, there is a big opportunity there for the Cavaliers to get a large margin in that category. Led by Thompson, the Cavaliers have a good shot of being able to close the talent gap in that category alone. It’s going to be tough, however. Zeller is not exactly the most physical defender and Marreese Speights has played rather sluggish as of late.

Considering everything, this may not be the most winnable game for the Cavaliers – as are a lot of the games left on their schedule. From here on out, it’s all about the Cavaliers putting in effort and sneaking a win in here and there. At the worst, it can’t be worse than the drubbing the Cavaliers received on Saturday against the Rockets. And if it is equal to or surpasses that effort, then this season will become more lost than it already has.