The Cleveland Cavaliers lost their 26th straight game on Wednesday, a unspirited and dispiriting defeat to the Detroit Pistons. The Cavs were actually favored in the game; Vegas must believe in regression to the mean or must really not believe in the Pistons. Nonetheless, the Cavs lost 103-94. Cleveland put up just 16 points in the first quarter, and trailed by 12 at halftime.
Cleveland Cavaliers’ 26-Game Losing Streak Has Byron Scott Mad (Finally)
Cavs coach Byron Scott has remained rather diplomatic throughout the streak; it's always appeared as if he came to terms with the loss of LeBron James back when LeBron made his decision. But all noble men reach a breaking point, and apparently this lackluster effort by Cleveland pushed Scott over the edge. From the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Mary Schmitt Boyer:
The performance was so bad that coach Byron Scott threw a fit at halftime and another one after the game, when he kept the locker room closed for 30 minutes.
But, frankly, he is at a loss to explain what is happening.
“I’m mad as hell because ... I can deal with losing, especially when our guys play as hard as they have in the last couple weeks,” he said. “But I find it very hard to deal with when guys don’t come out ready to play.”
The Cavs nearly beat the scorching Dallas Mavericks on Monday, which makes the no-show against the mediocre Pistons so dumbfounding. NBA players tend to be a proud lot, and the veterans and youngsters alike on this squad must be bristling at the jokes and catcalls. They should be as motivated as ever to play as hard as possible, if only to save a bit of face.
But that didn’t happen on Wednesday, and Scott has a tall task ahead of him in figuring out how to motivate the team to work hard. If they can’t bust their tails now, will they ever be able to?
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