Cavaliers 'Ran Out Of Gas' In Loss To Nets
It's been a long, emotional week for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They've taken down both one-seeds in the NBA's Eastern and Western Conference on the floor while receiving navigating injuries off the court.
At some point, the lack of bodies available was going to catch up with the team. That's exactly what happened on Sunday night as Cleveland fell 101-120 to the Brooklyn Nets.
J.B. Bickerstaff has a simple evaluation of his team following the game. He said they, "ran out of gas."
"Everyone was trying to step up, one more man down. I thought they competed in the first half and then in the third quarter kinda of broke out back ... I give our guys a ton of credit for going out, competing, giving what they had. But like I said, at some point in time, you just run out of gas and I think tonight was one of those nights."
This was Cleveland's fourth game in the last week. On top of that, they were still down Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus, and Evan Mobley. The team also learned learned they be without Dean Wade (personal) just hours before tipoff. Outside of those being crucial pieces to the Cavaliers' offense, those are key rotation members who account for a majority of the team's minutes.
Mar 10, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton (33) defends Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) in the first quarter at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
© David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Bickerstaff said some of the signs his team had little energy were them not attacking 50/50 balls and early turnovers that are uncharacteristic of this group.
Cleveland can look back and credit their lack of bodies as the reason they lost. However, if they play this same style of basketball against the Phoenix Suns on Monday night they'll be looking at a larger deficient than just 20 points.
