Coming into the season, many predicted that the Cleveland Cavaliers would be a lock for being one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, competing with the New York Knicks for an NBA Finals appearance, especially with injuries to the franchise players of the last two conference champions, Jayson Tatum for the Boston Celtics, and Tyrese Haliburton for the Indiana Pacers.
Although that still could happen, so far the Knicks have lived up to the hype among the two teams, while the Cavs are currently underperforming expectations with a 17-15 record. The question everyone's asking is why this has been the case.
After losing another tight matchup on Christmas Day against the Knicks, the problem has been identified.
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Once the game concluded with a 126-124 win for the Knicks, ESPN's Bobby Marks shed some light on the problems in Cleveland by providing an interesting stat. In their last nine clutch games, the Cavaliers are 1-9 and 6-12 in total on the season.
It was also noted that the team last season, which earned the top seed in the conference, was 26-12 in close games.
Winning close games is a necessity for any team to achieve greatness, and teams that struggle to do so will have a tough time, regardless of their talent.
Not to mention, it also did not help that Cleveland blew a 17-point lead against New York in a game that could have represented the turning point the Cavs needed to get them back on track; however, with the reality of things, it appears matters have gotten worse, but only time will tell if they can right the ship.
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