INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — About a month ago, following their lopsided win over the Washington Wizards in NBA Cup play that helped boost their point differential, one member of the Cavs immediately asked for the result of Toronto-Atlanta — another game happening simultaneously within the same group.
That player knew the stakes. He had his sights on Vegas.
The Cavs won’t be going to the desert this weekend — officially eliminated from Cup contention on Nov. 28 as a result of a 130-123 setback to the Hawks.
Their consolation prize: Five days off, an early-season pause.
Only this week is far from a respite.
On Tuesday, the Cavaliers practiced for the first time since Nov. 4 — an exhausting defensive-minded session. There was also a revelatory film session in which no player was safe from Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson’s wrath.
“He just called us out,” starting swingman De’Andre Hunter said. “He broke down exactly what we needed to do, exactly what we haven’t been good at. We watched it. As a whole team, it’s not the easiest thing to see when you’re not doing well, but we saw a lot of that.
“It was definitely a tough, tough, hard film session. But I think we needed it. I think it’s gonna help us in the long run.”
By any measure, the Cavs have been one of the league’s greatest disappointments, especially considering what was expected of them this season.
A title favorite, predicted to finish atop the Eastern Conference for a second straight campaign, Cleveland is currently seventh with a 14-11 record and five losses in the last seven games.
In recent weeks, multiple players have spoken up about the continued struggles and lack of consistent effort — areas that were harshly identified Tuesday.
“I ain’t gonna give you the specifics, but it’s more so just our compete level,” Hunter explained. “There’s not really much Xs and Os. It’s really just our energy, doing the things that we can control night in or night out, whether we’re making or missing shots.
“It’s negative. I feel like anything negative, if you watch it and try to actively work on it, you should get better at it.”
Atkinson compared this week to a training camp environment, giving the team a chance to reset, resharpen its principles and rediscover a lost identity. He even used the comparison of being down 2-1 in a playoff series, something that brings back haunting memories to last spring, when Cleveland was unexpectedly tossed out of the conference semifinals by Indiana.
Part of that assessment was a painful mirror test. It’s the same thing right now.
Honest evaluation. Constructive criticism. Harsh truths. Accountability. Embarrassment.
Coaches. Players. Everyone.
“You can’t blame anyone else,” Hunter admitted. “Can’t say you weren’t in a rhythm or you weren’t making shots or anything like that. If you just watch film and you see yourself, you’re getting cut back door or you’re getting beat down in transition, that’s on you. We saw that and we’re taking accountability. It helps every single player because we saw it, so it’s hard to deny it.”
Following Saturday’s inexplicable loss to the woefully-undermanned Golden State Warriors — a night in which the Cleveland locker room was somber and muted — Atkinson and staff gathered to discuss the coming week.
What was the best approach? How much rest should be given to this beat-up team? Should practices be short or long? Drills or scrimmaging?
Determined to capitalize on this break, coaches agreed that a deep dive into the problems, with direct messaging and video clips that supported it, was best.
“We’re not enjoying it,” Atkinson said. “We’re on edge. We’re competitors. This isn’t fun. Wasn’t fun in the sense of the film session was uncomfortable. Practice is uncomfortable. Everybody wants that joy. The joy comes back when you start improving and turning a corner as far as what we want as a team.
“So, it’s not fun, it’s not joyful. You’re a little tweaked, a little frustrated. How are we going to react to that? It does not feel good right now. How do we react to that? How do we bounce back? This is an important stretch to see how we react to our struggles.”
The Cavs understand the circumstances surrounding their record.
A hellish schedule with five sets of back-to-backs and two separate five-in-seven-game stretches. Thirteen different starting lineups. An injury report that seemingly won’t shrink.
The bright spot: It’s only December, still plenty of time to turn things around.
Veteran center Thomas Bryant knows all about it. Even though Bryant said the Cavs are in a “gray area” because of everything they’ve dealt with over the first 25 games, he won’t use it as an excuse. Last year, his Pacers were forced to overcome many of those same obstacles. They were 10-15 at this same point. Didn’t creep back above the .500 mark until early January.
It tested them. Galvanized them. Helped fuel a Finals run.
Bryant brought that up Tuesday when players held a separate meeting amongst themselves.
“I feel like it’ll catapult us right here,” Bryant said. “Sometimes, you have to feel that playoff-ready mode, you have to feel those type of games, you have to feel those type of feelings throughout the season, so that way it gets kind of engraved into you as the year goes on.”
“It just shows that we’re all bought in,” Hunter added. “We’re all not happy with where we are. We are trying to be better and we have a common goal. So, to have a team-led meeting and have guys speak out and speak their minds, I think that helps not only the players but the coaches as well. I think you need those things. You can’t just kind of brush them to the side and say we’re going to be better later in the season. Because that’s not necessarily true.”
Bryant admitted the player-led discussion centered on complacency, spirit and focus.
“It’s a long season, it’s a grueling season,” Bryant reiterated. “We’re gonna have ups and downs and everything, but our consistency level of what we do with each other has to stay the same, and that has to grow day-in and day-out.
“We can’t just start thinking like, ‘Oh, it might be this game. We can turn it on in the second quarter or fourth quarter when we’re down.’ No, it has to start at the beginning of the game, before the clock starts, and then, all the way ‘til the clocks hit zero in the fourth quarter.”
In a strange way, failing to advance in the NBA Cup could prove beneficial. This break has given a teetering team the chance to get its footing.
“I feel like part of this reset is just getting back to what we started in training camp and our identity,” Atkinson said. “And quite honestly, with five [games] in seven [nights], you don’t have time to do that. And slippage happens.”
Despite ranking 10th on offense and eighth on defense — lower than desired in both categories — Atkinson said drastic tactical changes aren’t needed.
First things first, the team’s mentality needs to change.
“I feel great about today as a coach,“ Atkinson said. ”Get back to our principles and our fundamentals and how we do things. Double down on that, double down on our identity.”
The Cavs get a chance on Friday night against the Wizards, one of two games added to the schedule after missing the knockout rounds. The other comes Sunday at home against Charlotte.
The next six will be against teams with a record below .500 — the perfect runway to start a turnaround.
