CLEVELAND — It’s the stain this version of the Cleveland Cavaliers hasn’t been able to scrub out since they were assembled. Changing coaches didn’t cleanse it. Sweeping the Miami Heat last year in the first round certainly didn’t remove it. No, the Cavs’ toughness, both mentally and physically, has been questioned for years.
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From Mitchell Robinson pushing around Jarrett Allen three years ago (and Allen acknowledging the lights were too bright) to coach Kenny Atkinson calling out his team’s lack of mental rigidity following last year’s stunning elimination by the Indiana Pacers in the second round, the criticisms have been hurled like slurs at a group of well-mannered nice guys who just aren’t viewed as mean enough to win a street fight in the NBA playoffs.
Atkinson believes Wednesday night’s come-from-behind 125-120 win against the Toronto Raptors in a pivotal Game 5 was a step in the right direction. I tend to question whether winning at home, in a game the Cavs were favored to win by nearly double figures, really counts as some show of gritty strength.
That this series is going to a sixth game is an indictment of a far superior Cavs team that should be going home to rest up while waiting on their next opponent, not boarding another plane for another trip through customs.
The Raptors are running out of able bodies. Immanuel Quickley, their best 3-point shooter, hasn’t played in this series and won’t because of a hamstring injury. Brandon Ingram departed in the first half on Wednesday with a heel injury after playing just 11 minutes and did not return. He took only two shots (missed them both) and was again a non-factor. His status for Game 6 is to be determined. A.J. Lawson, who opened the year on a two-way contract, replaced Ingram and was so ineffective that he was yanked two minutes into the third quarter and never returned. The Raptors are down to just Scottie Barnes and R.J. Barrett for any consistent scoring, and even Barnes is limping around with a quadriceps issue.
Yet the Cavs still trailed entering the fourth quarter.
If Atkinson wants to use this as a victory lap for mental toughness, so be it. You have to start somewhere. I’d instead question how the Cavs could allow themselves to fall behind by a dozen at home early in the third quarter and get booed by their home fans against a less-talented, depleted team.
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“These are high-pressure moments,” Atkinson said. “You’re down. You feel the crowd getting nervous. So I think we took a step tonight. Whatever happens in this series and all that, next series, whatever, tonight was a test. Kind of passed that mental toughness test tonight.”
Sure. OK.
An ugly win at home beats a devastating postseason loss every time, and make no mistake, losing this series would be a catastrophe to an organization with the game’s highest payroll and so many major questions looming this summer. Certainly, there were positive signs.
Evan Mobley was terrific in the fourth quarter after two dismal showings in Games 3 and 4 on the road, and Dennis Schröder played the entire fourth quarter while shooting the Cavs to the series lead.
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Schröder’s hot hand allowed the Cavs to extend a slim fourth-quarter lead while Donovan Mitchell rested, a luxury he has rarely enjoyed. The five on the floor were so good that Mitchell told Atkinson to let them run when Atkinson tried putting him back in the game.
But if the Cavs are going to contend for a championship over the next six weeks, the real mental strain will come when they have to rally from deficits on the road or win while facing elimination in front of a hostile crowd.
Atkinson inserted Max Strus into the starting lineup and removed Dean Wade to help space the floor. Wade has been terrific in this series defensively, but he isn’t feared on offense. Atkinson wanted the Raptors to play a bit more honestly on defense, rather than clogging the lane and taking away the Cavs’ pick-and-roll actions. The flip side was that Toronto exposed mismatches and got to its spots relatively easily on offense, especially early.
For the Raptors, extending this series to six games despite their personnel limitations is a credit to their grit and toughness.
For the Cavs to tough out this series and contend for a title, they’re going to need to show more.