CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cavs are suffering from a severe case of mistaken identity.
Despite possessing one of the NBA’s most skilled offensive rosters last season, they continue to resist embracing who they truly are — and it might be their biggest obstacle to championship contention.
On the latest Wine and Gold Talk podcast, cleveland.com Cavs beat reporter Chris Fedor discussed this fundamental disconnect between perception and reality.
“I think the truth from the Cavs perspective is that they are going to be built on skill and rhythm. That’s who they are. And at some point, they’re just going to have to embrace that,” Fedor explained with unmistakable conviction. “But it’s like they continue to push back on this notion of who they are and how they have to go about winning and how they have to go about playing. And I think it’s like a flawed perception of who they are.”
This isn’t a new issue.
Fedor revealed he’s been questioning this misalignment for over a year, saying: “I was asking the question to so many different people inside the organization last year when they continued to say, ‘We’re a defense first team. We’re a defense first team.’ No, you’re one of the most prolific offenses in the NBA. Why don’t you just adopt that?”
The stubborn attachment to a defensive identity that doesn’t match their personnel seems to stem from philosophical beliefs about what championship basketball requires.
Yet as Fedor points out, teams can win with different styles in the NBA — the key is maximizing what you naturally do best rather than forcing a square peg into a round hole.
Host Ethan Sands pointed to the constant tinkering as evidence of this identity struggle: “I just think there’s so much tinkering that’s had to go on with this team based on the personnel on the floor, the identity that was created, the thought process behind the scenes of who they can be and what they should be, rather than just leaning into the identity of who they are in the very moment.”
This identity crisis manifests in peculiar ways during games.
In the recent loss to the Phoenix Suns, Jarrett Allen took just one shot in the entire second half after going 6-of-8 in the first half. This bizarre disappearing act echoes similar issues with Evan Mobley’s offensive involvement throughout the season.
The timing of this identity crisis couldn’t be worse. With the Eastern Conference as an open race and the Cavaliers possessing a championship-caliber roster, the window to compete for a title might not remain open long.
“There are big time expectations, it’s the most expensive roster in the entire NBA and they owe it to themselves within reason to put themselves in the best possible position when the Eastern Conference has never been more wide open than what it is,” Fedor emphasized.
Perhaps most frustrating for fans is that we’ve repeatedly seen glimpses of what this team can be when they fully embrace their offensive identity.
As Fedor described it: “Sometimes you look at them and the offense is beautiful and it’s rhythmic, and you see all the skill on the floor and all these dudes that are passing, dribbling, shooting, cutting, making plays, and you say to yourself, that’s how they’re made up. That’s who they can be.”
The question is whether the Cavaliers will finally embrace this reality before it’s too late. With the trade deadline approaching and roster decisions looming, the time for Cleveland to look in the mirror and accept their true nature has arrived.
Want to hear the complete, unfiltered breakdown of the Cavaliers’ identity crisis and what it means for their championship aspirations? Listen to the full episode of the Wine and Gold Talk podcast, where Fedor and Sands don’t hold back on what’s holding this talented team back from reaching their ceiling.
Here’s the podcast for this week: