Report: Some within Cavs were ‘really upset’ about FT disparity vs. Blazers

In a 2025-26 NBA season that’s had some peaks and valleys for the Cleveland Cavaliers thus far, they currently find themselves in a valley. They are losers of all but one of their last five games played and dropped their most recent contest to the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.

Cleveland lost by 12 points, and one factor in the loss was a discrepancy in the number of free throws attempted by each team. While the Blazers took a whopping 39 free throws, the Cavaliers got to the line just 24 times, and some folks within Cleveland’s organization were supposedly “really upset” regarding the free-throw disparity in the game.

“There were people inside the organization tonight…that were really, really upset about the free-throw disparity,” team insider Chris Fedor said. “And I totally get it. You’re going to look at the final numbers, and you’re going to be like, ‘Well, they got 39 free-throw attempts, and we got 24.’

“So, I can understand why people inside the organization would look at it that kinda way, and they can look at it, and they could say, ‘Well, is Deni Avdija Shai Gilgeous-Alexander? He got 17 free throws compared to Donovan Mitchell’s six free throws.’

“But I kinda pushed back, and I said, ‘Well, you guys couldn’t guard.’ If you can’t guard at the point of attack and your defense is compromised because of that and they’re getting anywhere they want to off the dribble and they’re breaking down defenders off the dribble and getting into the paint relentlessly, what do you think is going to happen?

“The whistle is gonna blow, and fouls are going to occur.”

While Avdija, who’s enjoying a breakout year, accounted for nearly half of all of the Blazers’ tries at the line, he wasn’t the only player for Portland who made an impact in that regard. Eight players in total for Portland attempted at least two shots from the line.

Defending without fouling has been a struggle for the Cavaliers all season long. They’ve given up 624 free-throw attempts so far in the campaign, and only the Indiana Pacers — who are 4-18 and dealing with a cavalcade of injuries — have sent teams to the charity stripe more times.

All of the free throws the Cavaliers have given up thus far have contributed to them not living up to expectations. While the sky isn’t necessarily falling, they’re just 13-10 on the season, and teams such as the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat (who many folks had low expectations for) are ahead of them in the Eastern Conference standings. Cleveland is currently in the play-in field.

But the Cavaliers still have plenty of time to figure things out, and they can get themselves out of this skid and perhaps start to turn things around when they take on the San Antonio Spurs on Friday. The Spurs have been one of the better teams in the West this season with a 15-6 record, so Friday’s game will give Cleveland a chance to make a bit of a statement.