Nearly one-third of the way into the season, the Cavaliers still are trying to figure out what kind of team they might be.
They are young and inconsistent, unquestionably. But for the first time in 21 games, they had a fully healthy roster Tuesday. They could imagine what might come when the chemistry has time to develop, when players understand how to work with each other.
For now, they must continue to settle for the version that is a work-in-progress, the one stomped by the Toronto Raptors, 113-99, before 13,233 at The Q.
At present, they can challenge the top teams in the league, yet fall to a Raptors squad that had lost 11 straight on the road. They can become stagnant on offense and so porous on defense that opponents can score at will.
They can be maddening to themselves.
“We’re not trying to make excuses here, but it seems like when we play the lower echelon teams, we don’t come out like we want to,” point guard Kyrie Irving said. “When we play teams such as the Lakers or New York, we’re in the game. But it’s a letdown here. We just have to come out with a more focused attitude and a killer mentality. Right now, we just need to find out what’s missing in the quarters we’re having letdowns.”
For the most part, the letdown came in the fourth quarter Tuesday, when Toronto scored 35 points on 58.8 percent shooting. Four Raptors reserves combined for 33 points. In all, Toronto hit 52 percent, including 50 percent from 3-point range. Cavaliers-killer Jose Calderon logged 23 points on 10-for-15 shooting, and five other Raptors scored in double digits.
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