'No Moral Victories' In Cleveland Cavaliers' Loss to Pistons

The Cleveland Cavaliers were down their superstar backcourt in Donovan Mitchell and James Harden against the Detroit Pistons, while multiple other members of the Wine and Gold’s depth were sidelined, too.

On the other hand, the No. 1-seeded Pistons were essentially at full strength, and the Cavaliers still played them close and forced Detroit into overtime.

In the end, the Cavaliers couldn’t hang on, and the Pistons walked away with a 122-119 victory, and that’s what the team was focused on after the game.

Although Cleveland’s group played Detroit, they still lost, and Kenny Atkinson made it clear there are “no moral victories” in defeat. 

Cleveland’s coach admitted when the “game started, and you say, ‘Hey, you're gonna go to overtime, you have a chance.’ 
I think we would have been pleased with that. But this is a tough one, tough. Like I said, there are no moral victories.”

The reason there are no moral victories in this loss is that the Cavaliers had opportunities to pull away and maintain a lead, but they just couldn’t convert them. 

“This is a big game. We had chances. The execution, turnovers, just kind of kicking ourselves a little bit, beat yourselves. 
When you don't get a shot at the rim [at the end of overtime]. Obviously, the foul at the end [on Daniss Jenkins], we should have fouled earlier… that’s on us,” continued Cleveland’s head coach.

The Cavaliers did do a lot of good against the Pistons. They shot the ball 45 percent from the floor and 37 percent from behind the arc, and overall brought a level of physical intensity that will be needed in a playoff game.

However, as Atkinson pointed out, the Cavaliers gave up 20 points on their turnovers and struggled to execute down the stretch, which ended up being the difference maker.

Looking ahead to the postseason, a Cavaliers-Pistons matchup in the first or second round is certainly not out of the question, and Atkinson does believe this game will be an opportunity to determine what the team needs to do to prepare for that potential series. 

Cleveland’s head coach pinpointed rebounding and limiting second-chance opportunities as key, a very familiar theme for the Wine and Gold. 

The key takeaway is that the Cavlaiers need to learn from this loss, and move on, and that’s exactly what the team looks like they’re prepared to do. 

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