Heading into this season, the Cleveland Cavaliers were pegged by many as a legitimate threat in the Eastern Conference-a team ready to go toe-to-toe with the New York Knicks for a shot at the NBA Finals. With injuries sidelining key stars like Jayson Tatum in Boston and Tyrese Haliburton in Indiana, the door looked wide open for Cleveland to step up. But as we near the halfway mark of the season, it’s the Knicks who’ve answered the call, while the Cavs are still trying to figure out who they are.
At 17-15, Cleveland isn’t in crisis mode, but they’re clearly underperforming relative to expectations. And after a Christmas Day heartbreaker-a 126-124 loss to those same Knicks-the cracks in the foundation are becoming harder to ignore.
The issue? Clutch-time execution. Or more accurately, the lack of it.
Following that narrow defeat, ESPN’s Bobby Marks pointed to a telling stat: the Cavaliers are just 1-9 in their last nine games decided in clutch time. On the season, they’re 6-12 in those situations. For a team with playoff ambitions, that’s a red flag waving in high definition.
It’s a stark contrast to last season, when Cleveland went 26-12 in close games and looked like a team that knew how to close. That version of the Cavs earned the top seed in the East and built a reputation on grit, defense, and late-game poise.
This year’s squad? Still talented, still dangerous-but not nearly as composed when the game tightens up.
And it’s not just the numbers-it’s the missed opportunities. Against the Knicks, Cleveland held a 17-point lead, a cushion that should’ve been enough to get them over the finish line.
Instead, they let it slip away. That kind of collapse doesn’t just sting-it lingers.
It’s the kind of loss that can shake a team’s confidence, especially when it's part of a larger pattern.
Now, it’s not all doom and gloom. The Cavs have the pieces.
The talent is there. But winning in the NBA-especially in the postseason-often comes down to how you perform in the final five minutes.
Right now, Cleveland isn’t passing that test.
There’s still time to turn things around. The East is deep, but not unbeatable.
If the Cavaliers can rediscover their late-game identity and tighten up in the clutch, they’ll be back in the mix. But until that happens, the question will keep hanging in the air: what’s going on in Cleveland, and can they fix it before it’s too late?