Just when you think the Cleveland Cavaliers have hit rock bottom ...
Their latest debacle came Tuesday night in a 116-98 loss to the Orlando Magic, in which they blew a 21-point first-half lead. After the game, Cavs point guard Isaiah Thomas was vocal with his criticism of the team, saying, "when adversity hits, we go our separate ways." Thomas also pointed to a lack of adjustments, which allows Cleveland's opponents to pull away late in games. Via ESPN:
"We got to do better," Thomas said after the loss to the Magic. "We got to adjust throughout the game. They made adjustments, and it worked, and we just kept getting hit with the same thing, and we made no adjustments. And that's been one of our biggest problems all year, is adjusting. Teams are not just going to allow us to continue to score and continue to do things at a high level. They're going to make adjustments, and we have to do the same thing, too, and we're not that good at that right now."
When asked about Thomas' comments on Wednesday, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue was succinct and firm with his answer.
Ty Lue when informed of Isaiah Thomas’ critique of the Cavs coaching staff’s inability to make in-game adjustments: “That’s not true”
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 7, 2018
Why not throw a coach-player feud on top of the dumpster fire that now inhabits the Cavaliers locker room? A player and coach disagreeing is nothing new, but everything that the Cavs do is made public and placed under an electron microscope.
Thomas hasn't been afraid to voice his opinion about his new team, which leaves some wondering whether the Cavaliers might try to move him before the trade deadline Thursday afternoon. He hasn't performed well at all with the Cavs, and he's presumably not yet at 100 percent after a hip injury forced him to miss the first 36 games of the season.
Reports have indicated the Cavaliers hope to make some sort of deal, if not multiple deals, before the deadline, so we'll have to wait and see what they have planned to try to right the ship.
