Apr 1, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks point guard Devin Harris (left) drives past Cleveland Cavaliers small forward Luke Walton (right) during the second half at Philips Arena. Hawks won 102-94. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Cavaliers danced to an unfortunately familiar tune on Monday night in Atlanta; a song that the Wine and Gold have been listening to for the last nine games. The common theme has been second-half implosions and the piling on of L after L. Even after tripping up the Atlanta Hawks with a tricky zone defense early on, Cleveland could not hang around with the Hawks in the second half.

After falling to the Hawks 102-94 to bring the season series to an even 2-2, Cleveland’s losing streak was extended to nine games. This is still the longest losing streak that the Cavs have been on all season long. As stated earlier, the common theme has been defensive breakdowns.

The leading scorer in this contest, guard Devin Harris, fought hard from the beginning for a season- and game-high 25 points. He scored 11 of Atlanta’s 25 first-quarter points to pace his team to an early 25-19 lead. But, as coach Byron Scott said in his postgame comments, the short-handed Cavs fought to their best ability with the help of a shifting defense. At this point in the season, making little tweaks to a team’s usual scheme means no harm. In fact, many have been calling out to Scott to play around with the players left on the depleting roster.

Some forced bad shots and turnovers allowed the Cavaliers to close the gap from a 10-point deficit to six points entering the second frame. Rookie center Tyler Zeller was a big factor in closing the gap all game long. He scored eight first-half points, but made little noise in the second act.

When the starting bigs (Tristan Thompson and Zeller) went missing, power forward Marreese Speights was there to help lift the team. A player that looked to have disappeared over the past couple weeks emerged in a big way, along with starting point guard Shaun Livingston. Livingston was aggressive in getting to the hoop all night long, and the duo of Speights and Shaun combined for 12 of Cleveland’s 25 second-quarter points.

Those two were a huge reason that everything didn’t fall down once Daniel Gibson got ejected for getting it on with DeShawn Stevenson. Gibson, who looks like he may be well on his way out of Cleveland, was providing good play for the Cavaliers in his 10 minutes of play, but his hot head led to an early goodbye.

The second half started off much better than many anticipated after the Hawks extended their lead to eight points just before the end of the second quarter. Through four minutes of play Cleveland had cut the lead to two points, providing life for a team that has been dead in the second set of 24 minutes as of late.

It wasn’t until after an Atlanta timeout that the team went on a 16-4 run due to the continuing terrific play of Harris. After going down by as much as 15 points in the fourth quarter, Cleveland still continued to battle. Speights’ terrific offensive night (11-of-15 from the field, team-high 23 points) kept the motor running, while rugged play from Wine and Gold members such as Omri Casspi also kept alive a glimmering hope of something Cleveland hasn’t experienced since March 12. However, the clock was against a team that looked like they wanted to win more than anything.

If Cleveland doesn’t win within the next six games, they would have gone a whole month (!) without a W. Only nine games remain on the schedule, and the next matchup will come against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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

A day after Kyrie Irving made his return to the court (and made the No. 4 play on SportsCenter’s Top 10), the Cleveland Cavaliers will be without their young star when they travel to Atlanta to take on the Hawks. Atlanta is in a unique position – they are 12 games above the .500 mark but sit 12 games behind the Miami Heat in their division. And with no realistic chance of winning in the East, they are stuck in the NBA version of purgatory. Even so, if the stats hold true, they should take down the Cavaliers.

Statistics

Advanced Statistics

Four Factors

Players to Watch:

Cavaliers: Shaun Livingston, point guard

1. Career 38.5 percent shooter against Atlanta in four games

2. Averaging 11.4 points over his last 10 games (6.2 for the season)

3. Shooting 54.0 percent in wins (43.8 in losses)

76ers: Josh Smith, power forward

1. Shoots 49.8 percent in wins (41.7 percent in losses)

2. Averages 9.3 rebounds in wins (7.5 in losses)

3. Shoots 48.7 percent on two days rest – his highest percentage

Key Matchup: Tyler Zeller versus Al Horford

For the Cavaliers (and I cannot emphasize this enough), this rest of season is not about wins at all. No matter how many games they win, they are going to be out of the playoffs and be back in the lottery. The rest of the season is about analyzing the talent on the roster and tonight is very good chance to do that. Zeller will be matched up Horford, and we’re going to get a really good look at if Zeller is ready to play physical at the NBA level. Horford is a physical guy with strong rebounding skills, and that is where Zeller needs to prove himself most. Let’s see how this plays out.  Early guess? It’s going to be a long night for the rookie.

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.