The Cleveland Cavaliers have had a month to forget, and their woes continued on Sunday with a road loss to the Miami Heat.
The undermanned Cavs were dominated in South Florida by a final score of 121-84, and after the game, one player told team insider Chris Fedor everything he needed to know with a simple gesture.
“As I walked into the locker room Sunday night, one player looked directly at me and gave the thumbs down — his way of describing that performance,” wrote Fedor.
“A perfect descriptor.”
The Cavs have lost three games in a row and six of their last eight as part of a March in which they’ve gone 5-8.
Cleveland hasn’t been able to stay away from the injury bug, with players like Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus and Dean Wade currently on the shelf and Evan Mobley finally returning to action on Sunday.
The string of injuries has left the team “exhausted,” as many players put it on Sunday, and the situation has left guys like Darius Garland having to do everything possible to try to keep the team afloat.
Unfortunately, those efforts haven’t been very successful, with Garland struggling over his last few games and the Cavs sputtering in the process.
While there is hope that Cleveland will ultimately be whole again this season, it might be a bit longer before that’s the case, and it’s worth noting that Mitchell is reportedly prioritizing the playoffs as he tries to get healthy. That could mean that he won’t be the savior some Cavs fans are longing for as it pertains to the regular season.
As the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, Cleveland is currently in position to have home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, but that’s far from a guarantee. The New York Knicks and Orlando Magic are creeping up on the Cavs in the standings, so the team may need to flip a switch in order to secure a seed that it’s happy with.
On a more positive note, Cleveland has a couple of winnable games coming up against the Charlotte Hornets. The Cavs will host the Hornets on Monday before facing them on the road on Wednesday. Wins in both games would be a positive sign for the squad.
