CLEVELAND (92.3 The Fan) – The Cavaliers got smoked by another contender and the reality that this team – in its current state – is nowhere near the title contender they’re expected to be is starting to sink in.
Once again they looked disjointed and disinterested.
Houston curb stomped and embarrassed the listless Cavs 120-88 Saturday night at Quicken Loans Arena on national TV.
The Rockets, who launched 51 threes and hit 19 of them, led by 12 after 1, 26 at half and 28 after 3.
The Cavs were ice cold again from deep – just 8 of 30 and the team shot 39.1 percent from the field as a whole in the loss.
Head coach Tyronn Lue decided his starters took enough of a beating through 3 quarters and gave them the fourth off, even though they looked like they took the night off anyway.
LeBron James finished a rebound and an assist shy of a triple-double – 11 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists on 3 of 10 shooting.
General manager Koby Altman may need to blow up the roster – literally – by the NBA’s Feb. 8 trade deadline. Unfortunately for Altman so much is broken that 1 or 2 moves might not be enough to salvage this trainwreck.
Too Much Firepower – Chris Paul led the Rockets with 22 points and he added 11 assists and 8 rebounds.
Ryan Anderson added 21 points, 8 rebounds while James Harden was held to 16 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds. Gerald Green tossed in 17 more off the bench in the victory.
Bricks Galore – Isaiah Thomas – hip injury or not – can’t do the only thing he’s known for: make shots.
Thomas was an unspectacular 5 of 13 from the field, including 0-4 from 3 to finish with 12 points. He is now a scintillating, barn-burning 50 of his last 148 shots over the last 11 games.
Unless Brooklyn’s first-round pick ends up as a top-3 lottery selection, Dan Gilbert, Altman and the Cavs got robbed, fleeced by the Celtics for Kyrie Irving.
National TV Blues – The Cavs have now lost 8 straight on national television – ESPN, ABC or TNT – this season.
Golden State – twice, Boston, Toronto, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Detroit and now Houston.
Of those losses 6 were by 10 or more points – Celtics by 14, Warriors by 10 on Martin Luther King Day, the Raptors by 34, Thunder by 24, the Spurs by 12 and now the Rockets by 32.
The Land – The Cavs debuted their ‘City Edition’ uniforms Saturday night.
The grey uniforms have ‘The Land’ across the chest with the white lettering and numerals outlined in dark gray with gold highlights.
The team will wear the ‘City Edition’ threads a total of 12 times – 8 home, 4 road – this season.