The Cleveland Cavaliers have looked good at times this season, but they lack consistency. Thursday’s loss to the lowly Portland Trail Blazers was a prime example and after the game, guard Donovan Mitchell sent a fiery message to the Cavs.
Quotes via Down Euclid:
“We said this at the beginning, but we want to be a championship-caliber team and we’re not playing like it,” said Donovan Mitchell. “This is the worst loss of the season.”
“We can either sit here and keep having this conversation or we can do something about it,” said Mitchell. “I think we will do something about it, I know we will do something about it. I know the guys in this locker room.
“You know, it’s a turning point. Like I said, let’s go. We’ll be fine. We’ll fix it.”
Spida is right. The Cavs have championship aspirations but they’re not even close right now. Sloppy basketball, horrid three-point shooting, and an inability to defend the three-point line all played a factor in the Blazers defeat.
We’ve seen the Cavs beat good teams like the Sixers and Nuggets. However, coming out and failing to get the job done against a poor Portland group shows that Cleveland isn’t anywhere close to being a legitimate contender to come out of the Eastern Conference.
Donovan Mitchell also had a rough night, scoring 23 points on 7 for 20 shooting from the field while draining just 1 of 9 triples. At 10-9, the Cavs are now eighth in the East. They will have a clear chance to bounce back on Saturday against the league-worst Detroit Pistons.