Raptors 120, Cavs 105: 8-Game Losing Streaks and Terrible Team Defense

Antawn Jamison might just be playing his way out of town. 

The 34 year old veteran is taking advantage of the situation he's in, and notched 30+ points for the second consecutive game.  Antawn swished 5 of 7 three pointers, and finished with 32 for the game.

It takes more than one player to win a game.  Despite Jamison's solid performances, the Cavaliers succumbed to the Toronto Raptors in a game where defense was nonexistent.  At least we can say there's one thing consistent about this team: We always seem to play well in the 1st half, and then come out of the locker room with very little energy and get run off the court.

The Cavaliers' defensive effort in this game resembled something of a mockery of professional basketball.  Toronto scored 62 points in the paint and shot 57% from the field.

Raptors guard Jose Calderon shot a scorching 80% from the field on his way to 20 points.  Bargnani led the way with 25, Barbosa added 22, and high-flyer Julian Wright contributed 15 points.

Don't take my word for it, Coach Scott and Antawn weren't shy about the awful performance on the defensive end.  Byron Scott was not exactly thrilled with the effort, and talked about the team's weak defensive mentality after a relatively decent offensive showing.

Q: Byron, why do teams consistently score at will against the Cavs?

A: "That's a good question. A lot of it means, to me, that we're not ready to defend. When a guy catches the ball, now we're trying to get down into a defensive stance (and it's) too late. Our weak side defense, which we work on almost every day, are caught watching their man, instead of knowing exactly where the ball is on the weak side, so we can take away dribble penetration to the basket. We just didn't do a good job of guarding anybody on that floor…it has to be our staple and guys have to understand that. We have to take it personal. When you're one-on-one with a guy, it has to be personal. I don't think, at least watching the game, when those guys scored…it didn't hurt. It has to hurt. It has to be painful."

As for Antawn, (while he had to be somewhat satisfied with scoring 30+ on his own bobblehead night) he wasn't pleased with the team defense either.

Q: Antawn, why do we give up uncontested 3 pointers and allow teams like Toronto to score 120 points on our home court?

A:  "I've been in the league for a while and to have so many teams shoot so well against you on the three-point line, I don't think I have experienced the way teams are shooting the three-ball against us. I don't know if teams playing us have a lot of confidence or what. (The coaches) preach to run guys off the line and in all honesty, it's common sense to know certain teams are really going to shoot it and certain teams are not. There have been instances with a couple of teams (where) we have been there and they just couldn't miss. It's hard when teams are knocking down as many three-pointers that the teams we are playing are knocking down. It seems like a stop here or a stop there makes a difference, and that's when a three-pointer or whatever really puts us behind. We have just got to do a better job of, like I said, communicating and listening to the schemes because I know the schemes are great schemes. We are just not doing a great job as far as executing them."

The Cavaliers are not losing games because of a lack of offense; Jamison, Ramon Sessions and others are contributing and scoring enough points to win these games.  It's the defensive effort and intensity that allows these close contests to slip away.

Daniel Gibson left the game in obvious pain; apparently 'Boobie G' rolled his right ankle and could miss significant time.  What does that mean for the rotation?

J.J. Hickson didn't play a single minute last night.  Why?  He missed a mandatory practice.

Christian Eyenga did play, and made a postive impact scoring 16 points off the bench.  Byron Scott liked what he saw:

"I thought Christian was good. I thought he took the challenge defensively. We switched him out on Jose and I thought he did a pretty good job, but again, he's still young. He made a couple of mistakes. The more experience he gets, the more game time he gets, the better he's going to get. We saw flashes tonight. I'm very happy with Christian. He's come a long way and he's continued to get better. He works his butt off and he's going to be a good player."

With the injury to Gibson and Anthony Parker now missing time due to back spasms, Scott will likely be forced to keep Eyenga and Manny Harris in the rotation.  With an embarrassing record of 8-27, it might not be the worst time to see what the young players can do.

Things don't get easier from here, the team heads out West on a 5-game road trip.  Awaiting our disappointing squad are the Warriors, Suns, Lakers, Jazz, and Nuggets. Is it sad to hope for 1 win out of those 5?

While the team continues to struggle, the loyalty of Cavs' fans remains.  Hopefully something clicks soon, and this team starts winning some games.  As for the time being, the Cavaliers are almost harder to watch than an all-day Jersey Shore marathon.