The Cleveland Cavaliers are flirting with elimination, after a 107-97 loss to the Detroit Pistons in Game 2. With their season on the brink, they still don't know who they are.
In the aftermath of the Cavaliers Game 7 win over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, Kenny Atkinson was asked what he thought his team's identity was.
He couldn't answer.
"We'll see. To be determined, right?," Cleveland's head man said. "This is a first-round victory, and we were the favored seed. So we still got a lot to prove. We still got to take that next step. I'm happy with getting this series, but that'll be determined at a later point."
Two games into their second-round series with the Detroit Pistons, that answer is still unclear.
Suddenly the Cavs are running out of time to figure it out, following a 107-97 loss to the Pistons in Game 2 of their second-round series. Detroit now has a commanding 2-0 lead as the stage shifts to Cleveland for Games 3 and 4.
Through two games, the Cavaliers identity consists of a number of things, many of them troubling.
Their identity right now is that they can't shoot threes. In Game 2, they were 7-for-32 from deep, good for a meager 21%. That includes a dismal 0-for-11 in the fourth quarter. In total, the Cavs are 21-of-70 from long range so far in this series.
Their identity right now is a team that continually gets off to slow starts. The Cavaliers are getting outscored by Detroit 62-39 in the first quarter so far in this series. It's left them in chase mode for the rest of the game. Most concerning of all, nobody can explain how to fix it.
Their identity right now is that they can't protect the basketball. Entering Thursday, Cleveland had amassed 141 turnovers through their first eight playoff games – the most in that stretch of games since 1996. It added 11 more in Game 2, and the Pistons turned them into 14 points, two days after turning 20 turnovers into 31 points. (It's progress, I suppose)
Their identity is also that of a team that can't win road playoff games. Thursday's loss dropped them to 0-5 in road playoff games during this current run. Since Donovan Mitchell's arrival in 2022, the wine and gold are a meager 4-13 on the road this time of year.
Oh and their identity, of late, has also become a team that's been too content letting former MVP James Harden dictate everything for their offense throughout these playoffs.
After another dreadful half of basketball in Game 2, which saw Harden knock down just two of his 10 shot attempts, and none from three, Atkinson finally decided to let others facilitate the offense in the second half, speeding up the pace, as well.
It worked, as Cleveland gradually closed an 11-point gap to eventually tie the game at 79 and then take a brief, 81-79, lead in the fourth quarter.
Atkinson lamented the fact that Harden only took three shots, of which he was one-of-three and scored just two points, in the second half. The undeniable truth is, though, the Cavs' offense was better when it was less heliocentric around Harden.
There were some hints postgame that everyone sort of realized they're better off that way, but whether or not it will actually change moving forward is anyone's guess. At the very least, Harden leaned into the idea that he needs to do what's best for the team during a postgame conversation at his locker.
The fact that the light bulb is just now starting to come on for Cleveland, nine games and two rounds into the postseason is damning to everyone inside the organization. Mitchell keeps flippantly saying they'll get it figured out, Atkinson does too.
But the Cavs are out of time. Nobody knows who this team is, including the team itself. We're on the brink of never finding out.
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