On Sunday afternoon, the Cleveland Cavs’ struggles continued with an inexplicable home loss to the Charlotte Hornets in overtime. The Hornets were in control of this game for most of the way, despite a strong outing from Darius Garland, but even though the Cavs rallied late, Charlotte was able to get things into overtime thanks to a late three from Brandon Miller.
In the extra period, the Cavs put exactly zero points on the board in the entire five minutes, prompting boo birds from the crowd.
After the game, Cavs star Donovan Mitchell reacted to the fanbase’s angst.
“I would boo us too. The city deserves better than what we are giving,” said Mitchell, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
The Cavs also etched their names in the wrong side of the NBA record books with their listless performance in overtime.
“The Cleveland Cavaliers were just the first team since 1997 to not score a single point in overtime,” reported Mike Vigil of The Timeline Podcast on X.
Overall, the Cavs have been a major disappointment so far this season, currently sitting at 15-12 when many thought they would run away with the Eastern Conference for the second straight year.
Just two days prior to the Hornets meltdown, the Cavs needed a Herculean effort from Mitchell just to beat the lowly Washington Wizards.
The fact that the Cavs are struggling to this level despite having one of the easiest schedules in the NBA thus far is certainly cause for concern, and it’s worth considering what will happen to the team once they have to go on a Western Conference road trip if these are the kind of performances they are turning in against lowly competition in the Eastern Conference.
In any case, the Cavs will next take the floor on Wednesday evening against the Chicago Bulls.