Links To The Present: December 6, 2010

2010-12-06 Off By Colin McGowan

The Cavaliers lost to the Detroit Pistons 102-92 on Sunday night while shooting a meager six of 22 in the fourth quarter. The Cavs have now lost on the road to a team with a six-game losing streak (Minnesota) and a four-game losing streak (Detroit). In other words, they’re losing to some of the worst teams in the league. The Plain Dealer’s Mary Schmitt Boyer has a game recap; the postgame quotes feature the words “demoralizing,” “transition,” and “when it rains, it pours.” Sounds like the language of a team that’s downright punch-drunk at the moment.

The Cavs’ haplessness apparently isn’t just the product of a lack of talent. Byron Scott said after last night’s Pistons game that he wants “someone in that locker room to get [peeved] besides me” and for the team “to compete for 48 minutes.” The implication from these quotes is that the Cavs are accepting these losses rather than using them as motivation. They can’t compete for 48 minutes? They’re not mad? We might be looking at the worst team in the league if this continues.

The focal point of a lot of game recaps seems to be the play in the fourth quarter when the Pistons were allowed to run down the shot clock, get an offensive rebound, run down the shot clock again, grab a second offensive rebound, and hit a three to ice the game. How this sort of thing happens to an NBA team playing the Pistons, I haven’t the slightest.

It seems Byron Scott will look to overhaul the Cavs’ starting lineup and rotation in the coming week. He’s characteristically cautious, but it’s probably time to see if Manny Harris and Samardo Samuels can do something off the bench. Some ink has been spilled about whether or not playing rookies would be a white flag, but what does one call a 129-95 loss in Minnesota?

The Morning Journal’s Zachary Dzurick ponders if this apathy and losing will lead to the death of Cleveland’s basketball franchise. Things can’t possibly be this grim, but I sympathize with his sentiment.

On The Twitters

“Video to start your week — Top 10 Dunks of November http://dlvr.it/9qfMd #PBT #NBA” [Kurt Helin]

“Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. #Cavs” [realcavsfans]

Either Eyenga’s English is still a work in progress or he’s tapped into some divine profundity: “smart then u think they are but no smart they think the are. who can be???” [Christian Eyenga]

Share