CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Did the Cavaliers even try on Saturday?
"Don't look like it. We didn't have no fight," coach Tyronn Lue said.
Rockets 120, Cavs 88. Houston drained 19 3s and led by as many as 35. They were up 26 at halftime and by as many as 14 in the first quarter.
Did Cleveland even try?
"We came in with a game plan and we didn't execute it," LeBron James offered when asked.
If "defense" were the art of standing and waving at your man while he drives to the hoop or jacks a 3, the Cavs would be a top-10 defensive team (as it is, they're 28th, five-tenths of a percentage point from last).
"We can't just say it was toughness," Isaiah Thomas said. "All they do is shoot 3s. I don't know what's so tough about that."
If the Cavs didn't try, against a team with the likes of James Harden and Chris Paul, with the game being shown nationally on ABC and 20,562 paying Cleveland customers in the building, it means their spirit is broken.
But if they did try, and this was the result, it confirms the 34-point loss to Toronto, the 28 pointer to Minnesota, and the 24-point knockout by Oklahoma City are not merely a trend. It would mean the Cavs aren't winning another title, most likely aren't returning to the Finals, and would be lucky to win a playoff round.
So which is it, broken dreams or a shattered team?
"We've performed like this a lot of times this season, so no different tonight," Dwyane Wade said.
For the record, Wade said the players tried.
Lue disagrees.
"I thought they took the game to us on both ends," he said. "I thought on the defensive end it was physical, they was into our bodies. Offensively, they got anything they wanted. I don't think we did a good job of fighting and putting up a tough enough fight."
If Lue is right, if the Cavs simply chose not to compete Saturday night, then he has much work to do, obviously. He reaffirmed his belief that Cleveland could become the best team in the East, but there's a caveat now.
"I think our mindset has to change - what we're really playing for?" he said. "Are we playing to win or are we playing to look good? We have to be tougher. It's tough for me because that's how I got here. But we just have to be tougher mentally and physically. I think when things get tough we have to be tougher."
If Lue is wrong, if this is the best the Cavs can do against the Rockets, the Raptors, the Spurs, the Timberwolves, the Thunder, the Celtics.
(As an aside, while the defending champion Warriors did indeed sweep the Cavs this season, both games were reasonably close throughout).
Anyway, if this is what trying looks like, the Cavs as constructed are toast. The trade deadline is Thursday. Multiple players, none named James, should be jettisoned.
If this is what trying looks like.
"That's not a question for me," James said, when asked if changes need to be made. "I show up to work every day. I bust my tail every day. I'm the first one to get to the gym and I'm one of the last ones to leave. I do my part. I control what I can control and that is what I can control."
See, James does this. He'll fail the eye test for effort -- his team was outscored by 17 with him on the court, and he was as guilty of standing around defensively as anyone -- but puts up numbers that give you pause.
He was a rebound and an assist from a triple double against the Rockets, finishing with 11 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists in 31 minutes.
But, this is the first time now in 11 seasons that James has scored fewer than 12 points in a game twice. He put up 10 in that blowout loss to the Timberwolves on Jan. 8.
James hasn't been the same since Thomas started playing on Jan. 2. Thomas hasn't been the same player since hip injuries forced him out of the Eastern Conference finals against the Cavs.
The Cavs haven't been the same since they lost in the Finals to the Warriors. They have a new general manager and eight new players. None of them are named Kyrie Irving.
"We gotta stop worrying about the past," James said. "This is this season and we haven't played well versus anyone."
Lue said he's not going to revert back to old lineups -- like the ones he employed while the Cavs won 18 of 19 in November in December. He can't do that, in part, because Kevin Love is out for two months.
But, also, Lue feels he can't do it because it would mean Thomas and Tristan Thompson and Derrick Rose would be out.
The Cavs are 6-12 since Christmas. They still have to play the Wolves, Celtics, and Thunder again before the All-Star break.
"I don't think these teams are that much better than us, if we put up the fight and the grit that we need," Lue said. "But it's embarrassing to have national TVs, four games I think, getting blown out."