Perhaps the question was inevitable after watching the lifeless Cavaliers stumble to their 10th straight loss, a 113-95 defeat at the hands of the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night at The Q. The crowd booed its displeasure intermittently all night.
Cavs coach Byron Scott was asked if he was worried about losing his job.
“Not really,” said the coach who is 22-52 this season, 62-160 in his three seasons here. “I’ve always had the attitude, ‘Whatever happens, happens.'”
The problem Wednesday, as it has been far too often lately, was that nothing at all happened, from start to finish.
Scott went to a zone out of desperation in order to protect his undersized and defensively challenged squad and the Nets absolutely shredded it, shooting 83.3 percent in the second quarter (15 of 18) in building a 30-point lead that made the second half completely irrelevant. They outscored the Cavs 38-16, tying the season high for an opponent in the second quarter.
“That was probably one of the worst halves we’ve had in a while, I mean from a effort and energy standpoint,” Scott said of the first half.
• Final statistics from Nets-Cavaliers | Scoreboard | Standings
MarShon Brooks, starting for the injured Joe Johnson (sore left heel), hit his first 10 shots and finished with a career-high 27 points for the Nets (43-31), who were without starter Gerald Wallace (sore left foot). Brooks tied his career high with seven assists. Deron Williams added 24 points, including his first dunk of the season, and Reggie Evans had eight points and 19 rebounds.
The Cavs simply didn’t put up any resistance. Scott was asked if he was at the end of his rope with this team.
“No, I’m disappointed though, I really am,” he said. “After the effort we had in Atlanta [a 102-94 loss on Monday], to come back and play this way, I’m very disappointed in the way we played. We just didn’t show any life. The energy, the effort wasn’t there, for whatever reason.”
Scott was asked if he thought he’d lost his players. “I still don’t feel that way,” he said.
Why not? “I just don’t,” he said. “Even with what I just said, I don’t.”
Kyrie Irving, who had 16 points in his second game after being out three weeks with a sprained left shoulder, was asked if he had any sense players had quit.
“Um, I think you should ask them,” he said. “I’m not going to be the one to answer that.”
Have you?
“Have I checked out?” he said. “No. I’m out here playing with basically still a sprained AC joint out and with not a care in the world because I just want to play. I haven’t checked out. That thought has never crossed my mind.”
Fans cannot help but wonder about the whole team after the Cavs made the Nets look like the Miami Heat on Wednesday. By halftime, Brooks (19) and Williams (18) had outscored the Cavs, 37-36. Evans outrebounded the home team’s starting frontcourt for the game, 18-15. Marreese Speights did have 16 points and 10 rebounds, but it barely put a dent in the Nets lead.
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