CLEVELAND, Ohio — A disturbing — and illuminating — stat was relayed to Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson about 90 minutes before tipoff of Sunday’s marquee matchup with the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons.
Cleveland entered with the league’s worst net rating in the second quarter.
“Well, that’s our bench,” Atkinson responded quickly. “You saw our bench last year. We were playing elite. This year, we’ve had some good spurts and not-so-good spurts.”
Put Sunday in the latter category.
Cleveland started the second quarter with Donovan Mitchell, De’Andre Hunter, Craig Porter Jr., Thomas Bryant and Nae’Qwan Tomlin. Seventy-two seconds later, Evan Mobley replaced Bryant, giving the Cavaliers two starters and three reserves.
That’s when Detroit quickly started cutting into a one-time nine-point lead. As the quarter progressed, Atkinson kept rotating different reserves, searching for the right lineups and combinations.
He never found them.
By the end of the ruthless 12-minute slaughter, the Pistons had tallied 47 points, outscored Cleveland by 19 and completely flipped the game, taking a 10-point lead into the half.
The result: Cleveland had to fight uphill the rest of the game, with a miniscule margin for error. It didn’t lead at any point after the 2:25 mark of the second quarter.
“Can’t get lax,” Mitchell said following the 114-110 loss that snapped a three-game winning streak. “We started off well and then you’ve gotta play catch up. I think whether it’s communication, coverages, rebounding, whatever that is, we’ve gotta come out better in the second quarter and then finish the half better. It’s been different things in different instances, but I think to have to play a catch up in the whole second half is definitely tough.
“We’re always gonna fight. There’s always that. But we should have won this game and we didn’t. That’s on us.”
The Cavs’ second-quarter net rating is now a wretched minus-14.4.
The only teams even close to that undesirable stratosphere: Indiana, Washington, Sacramento and New Orleans — a destitute quartet that has a combined record of 31-112 this season.
Not exactly the company the Cavs want to keep.
“We gotta look at it,” Atkinson said when asked about some of the lineups used in the second quarter Sunday. “Obviously, wasn’t the right combination. Obviously, the bench play hurt us tonight.”
More like the entire season.
Last year, with flammable Ty Jerome anchoring the second unit, Cleveland ranked eighth in bench production — and Jerome finished third in Sixth Man of the Year voting. It also got important contributions — some more sporadic than others — from Caris LeVert (before his midseason trade), Georges Niang (before his midseason trade), Hunter (following his arrival from Atlanta) and Sam Merrill (in a lesser role).
In the aftermath of the playoff flameout, getting bounced by the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals, and understanding that Jerome would be too expensive, Cavs decision-makers attempted to fortify the depth chart.
They swapped Okoro for Lonzo Ball. Signed beloved veteran Larry Nance Jr. Inked Bryant a few weeks before training camp. Selected Tyrese Proctor with the No. 49 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
There was also a belief that Dean Wade, Jaylon Tyson, Porter, Merrill and Max Strus or Hunter (depending on who won the starting small forward gig), would eventually be reserves, providing a dependable punch.
Injuries happened. Plans changed. There’s been endless instability, with guys bouncing in and out of the starting lineup (Sunday was Cleveland’s 19th different starting five). Roles have been altered. Players have underperformed.
It’s all led to the Cavs having the NBA’s fourth least productive bench — a partial explanation for the second quarter woes, the stretch where a bigger opportunity typically comes.
“Maybe we keep two of our stars out there at the same time,” Atkinson opined. “We’ve gotta help them. We started Sam tonight and that obviously hurts the bench, so we just gotta figure it out. It’s definitely, definitely hurting us in those minutes.”
On Sunday afternoon, Cleveland’s bench got outscored 51-28. Pistons two-way guard Daniss Jenkins — ironically a Mitchell protégé because of mutual off-court connections — tallied 25 points on his own, going 7 of 10 from the field, 6 of 7 from 3-point range and 5 of 5 from the free-throw line.
For the Cavs, Porter — a sudden mainstay of the second unit — continued to be effective, finishing with two points, six rebounds, one assist, two steals and a block in 23 minutes.
Hunter, who shifted back to his cozier reserve role on Dec. 17 after 23 straight starts to open the season, scored double figures for the eighth time in the last nine games.
Bouncy two-way forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin, a contributor most nights, looked a bit out of control and out place.
Bryant, getting an extended opportunity with Jarrett Allen sidelined because of an illness, got outplayed in his 15 minutes. He was a minus-12.
Ball looked unusable — again. He scored zero points. He missed his only shot — a flat triple that barely grazed the front rim. Had as many turnovers as assists (2). Finished a minus-18 in 10 minutes. Given his continued struggles, Ball may not have a place in the every-night rotation when the Cavs get closer to full strength.
Renewed health is an aspect the Cavs believe could lead to a more permanent fix, with a few guys moving into more appropriate spots and deepening the roster.
Until then, Atkinson knows he must do _something_ to remedy these untenable 12 minutes.