CLEVELAND, Ohio - It wasn’t just a bad game. It was a revelation.
When the Cavs – owners of the NBA’s highest payroll – were demolished by 32 points at home by the Oklahoma City Thunder on national television Monday, the blowout exposed an identity crisis at the heart of the franchise.
“It was domination because they were just that much better,” cleveland.com columnist Terry Pluto said bluntly on the latest Terry’s Talkin’ podcast, reflecting on the 136-104 humiliation.
What made the loss particularly alarming wasn’t just the score, but star guard Donovan Mitchell’s candid assessment afterward.
Mitchell told reporters: “Watching them defensively, they make the little rotations, they do the little things consistently. They’re defending champions for a reason, kind of stealing something from them. It’s watching their habits 1 through 15.”
The statement raises an uncomfortable question: Why don’t the Cavaliers – with their collection of All-Stars and massive payroll – have those same championship habits nearly four months into the season?
“Well, I think it’s also a philosophical thing,” Pluto explains. “When Kenny Atkinson was brought in here, he was brought in here to jack up the offense, fire up more threes, become kind of like the Celtics were when they won the title in that they didn’t talk much about defense, they talked about offense.”
This philosophical shift – moving away from former coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s “embrace the grit” defensive mentality – has transformed the Cavs into what Pluto describes as a “finesse team.” And that identity is being exposed by the NBA’s more physical contenders.
“The problem when a team is kind of offensive-oriented, and sort of what I would call finesse team, is they can be exposed by the grittier, tougher teams,” Pluto says.
What’s particularly revealing is that the league’s most successful teams lately have all embraced a physical, scrambling defensive style that the Cavs haven’t matched.
“Indiana is terrible this year, but last year, seeing Indiana, New York, Oklahoma City in the final four, all those are tough-minded teams,” Pluto notes. “You watch Oklahoma City, they just wear you out. They just keep moving.”
The roster construction compounds the problem. While players like Craig Porter Jr. and Jaylon Tyson bring elements of that tough-minded approach, others like Darius Garland struggle defensively. Meanwhile, key acquisitions like De’Andre Hunter and Lonzo Ball have underperformed.
“They made three kind of big moves from the middle of last season to now for veteran players Larry Nance Jr., Ball and Hunter, and all three have been basically, you know, failures,” Pluto says.
There appears to be a fundamental mismatch between the Cavs’ personnel, their playing style, and the direction of the league as a whole.
The solution may require Atkinson to deliver some tough love. Pluto references his old high school coach at Benedictine High in Cleveland, Augie Bossu, who would tell underperforming players: “Hell’s bells. You’re better than that.”
“When you start with ‘you’re better than that,’ you’re saying that ‘I believe in you,’ ” Pluto explained. “ ‘There’s more there and we need to get it.’ ”
Time is running short for the Cavs to discover that tough-minded identity. With limited trade flexibility due to salary cap constraints, the answer likely needs to come from within – and quickly.
Here’s the podcast for this week:
If you have a question or a topic you’d like to see included on the podcast, email it to sports@cleveland.com, and put “Terry’s Talkin’” in the subject line.
You can find previous podcasts below.