CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cavs pulled off another fourth-quarter comeback against the Indiana Pacers Wednesday night, securing a 120-116 victory that moved them to sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings. But don’t be fooled by the final score or their improved playoff positioning – this win exposed a dangerous pattern that could spell disaster come playoff time.
The Wine and Gold Talk podcast’s latest episode featuring cleveland.com Cavs beat reporter Chris Fedor and host Ethan Sands dives deep into this concerning trend.
“This is another bad performance by the Cavs. Overall, they’re finding ways to win these games late. They’ve kind of become synonymous with these fourth quarter comebacks,” Fedor said, highlighting a pattern that’s emerged against San Antonio, Memphis, and Chicago.
What makes this particularly troubling is the quality of competition. Wednesday’s opponent, the Pacers, came into the game with just six wins and was missing key players like Tyrese Haliburton, Obi Toppin, and Benedict Mathurin. Yet Indiana led for 36 of the game’s 48 minutes.
“It shouldn’t have been this hard,” Fedor emphasized. “Even without Donovan Mitchell, even with Dean Wade leaving the game and not being able to play in the second half, even with Max Strus still not being able to debut... this should have been a lot easier for the Cavs.”
The numbers tell a concerning story.
Cleveland currently ranks as the NBA’s fourth-best fourth-quarter team by net rating, but their clutch performance paints a different picture. According to NBA.com, the Cavaliers are just 8-13 in games defined as “clutch” situations – a winning percentage of only 38.1%.
Perhaps most alarming is Fedor’s assessment of what these comebacks represent: “It is a bad habit of theirs, this idea that they feel they can flip a switch in the fourth quarter or they can just crank up the defensive intensity in the fourth quarter. It’s something that they’re going to have to break as the season continues to go on.”
Even Darius Garland, who powered the Cavs with 29 points including 14 in the final frame, acknowledged this isn’t sustainable. Fedor revealed that Garland “didn’t think it was” a good thing to rely on these late-game heroics.
The most damning assessment came when Fedor stated: “I think it’s giving them a false sense of security, to be honest with you.” He noted that none of these fourth-quarter comebacks against depleted or struggling teams are accomplishments worth celebrating.
For a team with championship aspirations, the message is clear: the ability to “flip a switch” might work against lottery-bound teams, but it won’t against the NBA’s elite. As the Cavs learned in their previous playoff exit, postseason success requires complete 48-minute performances.
Want to hear the full breakdown of the Cavs’ concerning pattern and what it means for their playoff hopes? Listen to the complete episode of the Wine & Gold Talk podcast for Chris Fedor and Ethan Sands’ unfiltered analysis of Cleveland’s fourth-quarter reliance and what needs to change for this team to reach its potential.
Here’s the podcast for this week: