Cavs Mailbag: Why Do Cleveland's Wins Feel Like A Struggle?

Welcome to Cavs Mailbag! In this daily mailbag, Spencer Davies will respond to fans’ curiosities surrounding the Cleveland Cavaliers throughout the duration of the 2023-24 season. In order to submit yours, simply send your questions on X to @SpinDavies or via email at spindavies22@gmail.com.

The Cavs ended up splitting their back-to-back weekend set with a close loss to the Los Angeles Lakers and a grind-it-out victory over the Toronto Raptors. They currently sit at 9-8 with a healthier roster rounding into form. Next up is a matchup with the Atlanta Hawks for the final Group A In-Season Tournament game.

Cleveland sits at 2-1 in the group stage and will look to finish strong to push for a wildcard spot. The team will need a little help in addition to coming out with a win, but the possibility is still there.

Let's get to your questions.

Even when so many players play well, why does it feel like still such a struggle to win games? - @TT02504540

Basketball is a game of runs. That will never change. Even the best teams in the NBA do not have perfect track records. Fandom is also a roller-coaster ride with a wave of so many different emotions throughout a game. That's what makes it so fun, in my opinion. It's also what has made me shut off my phone and laptop screen to actually watch the action from start to finish without seeing reactionary opinions.

Rewatching games over a time or two can be helpful to confirm or dispel what one may have originally thought in a particular moment or stretch of play. That Lakers game was just a battle in crunch time where I felt the Cavs executed just fine. Good process doesn't always lead to success though. I'll say it 'til I'm blue in the face.

It is just the the nature of sport itself. One play or one miscue — in some cases, compounding errors and mistakes after originally making a good play — can snowball and eventually take away opportunities to win. That shouldn't mean a team loses all good will. It's all situational.

I'm sure there are a lot of Raptors fans who are going nuts over their squad losing because of a ricochet tip in from Jarrett Allen or an unorthodox-looking floater from Caris LeVert or the ball rolling around on the rim on Darius Garland's left-handed layup. These bounces and good fortunes tend to even out over the course of a year.

On Saturday, Donovan Mitchell's money shots didn't fall in the last minute of the game. You're taking those looks 110 times out of 100 from your star. Not all of 'em are going to fall. (And no, that wasn't selfish play. That is what you want in that moment.)

Basketball (and sports) is meant to be competitive. You can do the right things for 95 percent of a game, but that 5 percent could end up changing the result.

When I watch Cleveland play right now, I'm seeing defensive inconsistency and some guys still figuring out their timing. I think offensively, the sets have been amazing to watch and, in transition, there's been some real excitement in the open floor.

In late-game moments, there's been a mixed bag. In general, the Cavs just have to continue trusting one another and valuing the basketball. (That means after a good defensive possession with a stop or with a steal, don't try to be a hero with an unnecessary pass with an opponent lurking.)

They unquestionably have to be more consistent, intentional and sustained moving forward. Trading wins and losses won't cut it in this Eastern Conference. I'm also willing to cut them some slack considering factors out of their control. They're tied for the most back-to-back games in the NBA to this point with four and they've had to wiggle around the rotations because of setbacks. Now, the Cavs should be able to start picking up some momentum together so long as they stay healthy.

Thank you so much for the question on this. It's not an easy one to answer. Taking time to ask why this or that happened and then processing it from there, that would help a lot in sports discourse more than drawing conclusions based on emotion.

Even with great games, why didn't Craig Porter Jr. gain some minutes, especially the team coming from a back-to-back? - @Cavaliers_BRA

This one I'm genuinely curious about. Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff even acknowledged it, noting that it was just tough to make sure all of the team's guards got on the floor while getting guys back at the same time.

If you want a guess from my standpoint, Garland played a grand total of 14 minutes on Saturday, then exited the game with a neck injury. On Sunday, Bickerstaff saw DG running the operation extremely well, especially in the second half, which led to his whopping 41 minutes of play. Mitchell is working through some shooting struggles, but is still a veteran leader of this team that needs floor time.

Cleveland was playing big too for much of the game to match up with Toronto's length, so maybe Porter just got lost in the shuffle. He needs to play though. The wine-and-gold have to find a way to get him in there.

Why did Okoro play so little yesterday? Was it for injury prevention? - @isospida

Isaac Okoro's minutes were capped at 18 on Saturday night, which likely means he's on that at a maximum on rest. The Cavs did not have any rest for the next game against Toronto, so it's likely that he is on separate limits pending on the schedule. (Maybe he has a 20-minute restriction usually, but on back-to-backs, it's a hard 10.)

Okoro's energy is infectious. He did some great things in the open floor and got defenses on their toes and shifting this weekend. Hopefully, that's a sign of things to come to add him back into this Cleveland mix.

Will Canada revoke TT's citizenship? - @FeartheFroPod

After what Tristan Thompson did yesterday, he'll at least get a hard time coming back home! You can't quantify outmuscling and outhustling on a stat sheet. He was just as instrumental as Max Strus' 20-point explosion in the third quarter when the Cavs turned the tide. We can't forget that T-Top is only 32 years old still.

He got a tremendous stop on Joel Embiid in Philadelphia late and did his job against the Denver Nuggets the game beforehand. Sunday was just another example that Bickerstaff has a trustworthy, veteran big man to go to for the first time in a while when Allen and Evan Mobley aren't both on the floor together. That's huge.