An epic collapse, what went wrong for Cavs – Terry Pluto's Scribbles

CavaliersCleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (L) and Donovan Mitchell combined to commit 11 rebounds in opening night loss to Philadelphia. John Kuntz, cleveland.comCLEVELAND, Ohio – Scribbles in my Cavs notebook after they blow a 29-point lead and lost 114-106 in Philadelphia Thursday night:A lot of things went wrong in the Cavs epic collapse, but the most disturbing is how the Cavs wilted when the Sixers pressed the guards in the second half. It’s the same thing that haunted them last year in the playoffs. In the first half, the Cavs had a 69-45 lead. As Cavs Coach Kenny Atkinson said: “We played Cavs basketball.” The ball moved. They looked for big men inside. The Sixers looked slow.Revealing stat No. 1: In the first half, Jarrett Allen had 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting. He also had seven rebounds. In the second half, he took one (missed it) and had two rebounds.Revealing stat No. 2: In the first half, Evan Mobley shot 6-for-9 for 15 points. In the second half, he was 1-for-4 from the field for three points. Like Allen, he had two rebounds in the second half.The Cavs looked to get the ball inside in the first half. When the Sixers pressured the Cavs guards, they lost their poise. They didn’t look inside. In the second half, the Cavs had 15 turnovers compared to 14 field goals.Atkinson said: “They upped their pressure and physicality and we didn’t handle it well … They kept coming at us … It was playoff basketball in the second half … it was hard to run, hard to move.”The Cavs also were easy to defend because they kept trying to dribble to beat the pressure defense instead of passing the ball. That happened to the Cavs in the early rounds of the playoffs vs. Toronto and Detroit last year. James Harden hung on to the ball too long. Donovan Mitchell also did so at times. Those two guards had 11 turnovers.Atkinson said: “We tried to do it by ourselves … we tried to beat them with the dribble … and 1-on-1 basketball.”The Sixers seemed to be in a basketball coma in the first half. The Cavs were able to get to the rim at will, be it Mitchell driving or Allen setting up in the low post and scoring. The Sixers made it easy for Cleveland. The Cavs outscored Philadelphia 22-3 off turnovers. At the start of the third quarter, the Sixers were behind by 24 points and figured, “Let’s attack ‘em and see what they do.” The Cavs seemed surprised the Sixers came back at them so hard. In the second half, the Sixers outscored the Cavs 19-0 on turnovers. The NBA knows the Cavs blew a 22-point lead to the Knicks in the fourth quarter of the opening game of the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals. While Harden and Mitchell are veteran guards, younger and quicker players who double-team cause them and the entire Cavs team to look … as former Cavs coach Lenny Wilkens used to say … “Discombobulated.”The Cavs now have to beat the label of blowing big leads. The last 466 NBA teams that had a 29-point lead in a game turned out to be winners. The last 65 teams that had at least a 29-point lead on opening night won their games.Philadelphia star Tyrese Maxey said at halftime the players talked about how “this game would show what we are made of.” In the second half, the Sixers sent a message to the rest of the NBA that they are a very serious contender – especially after knocking off the Knicks in New York earlier in the week. Now, the same is true of the Cavs: This game will show what they are made of … This is a team that finished last season with a 35-15 record in their last 50 regular season games. They did win a pair of Game 7s to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. But they are blowing big leads … it’s got to stop before it becomes a basketball virus. This is the early season. Atkinson can make adjustments, having players such as Jaylon Tyson, Sam Merrill and even Evan Mobley bring the ball up the court at times when facing some pressure. This is a real challenge for Atikinson. Coaches also take part of the blame when there is a collapse such as this. He has to deal with that, looking at his use of substitutes, time outs, etc. Final point: The best news for the Cavs is they have another game Saturday – this time, at home vs. Brooklyn. They need something good to happen to them after Thursday in Philadelphia.I'm grateful to my readers who have read me for decades. I'm the author of more than 30 books, a winner of the National Headliner Award as the nation's best sports columnist in 2020 and best sports writer in...