The Cleveland Cavaliers don’t want to win enough

“We didn’t punch first. We were always being punched, and that’s what had to change.”

“Losses like these make you aware of the areas you need to improve in. They make you understand all the things that everybody tells you about playoff basketball.”

“For me personally, I don’t feel like I was the player I needed to be for this group,” Donovan Mitchell told the Akron Beacon Journal.

All of those quotes resonate for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who were just manhandled for the second game in a row against the Orlando Magic. Except those quotes aren’t actually from the latest Cavs’ loss. They are from last season’s playoff failure.

Look familiar? They should.

In the first two games of the series against Orland Magic, the Cavs played like the older brother holding their younger sibling at arm’s length. The Cavs looked like a team that may have learned from their failures one year ago. But after having the doors blown off twice in a row in Orlando, emphatically and embarrassingly, it's become clear the Cavs have not learned anything. It's worse.

Following the elimination last season, the Cavs’ core vowed to learn and get better. The front office tried to insulate the youth with battle-tested players like Max Strus and Georges Niang. Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff preached in the preseason about “being more dynamic” on offense. Mitchell knew he needed to be better.

Instead, the Cavs got worse year-over-year. They won fewer games. The offense went from seventh in the league last season to 18th this year. Darius Garland showed alarming regression from rising star to replacement-level point guard. Strus and Niang had their regular-season moments, but haven’t shown up in the playoffs. Dating back to last year’s postseason, the Cavs have failed to score 100 points in now seven consecutive playoff games. The bench unit is still woefully undermanned. Bickerstaff is the same coach as he was before, unable to adjust on the fly with questionable rotations.

The Cavs shot 12-51 from three-point territory in the games in Orlando, wilting like a plant in the hot Florida sun. The bench has not helped stop the bleeding at all. There is no release valve for when Mitchell is double-teamed. There are no lineup changes to figure things out. The Cavs effectively pulled the plug midway through the third quarter of Game 3, punting away an opportunity for the starters to figure out some things about Orlando’s defense. In Game 4, the Cavs folded like a lawn chair, which they tend to do when times get tough.

They gave up. They didn’t want it badly enough, and the body language showed as much.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the court, the Magic look like that Cavaliers team that shocked the league in 2021-2022. Young, full of energy, and a chip on their shoulder. Paolo Banchero is unafraid of the moment. Even when Banchero struggled in Game 4, Franz Wagner picked him up and willed the Magic to a win. Jalen Suggs smothered Mitchell (and, effectively, the entire Cavs’ offense), holding him to 1-6 shooting and three turnovers as the primary defender. They play like the floor is on fire, relentless on defense and forcing turnovers.

Meanwhile, the Cavs look like a team that does not care if they lose. There isn’t any aggression or intimidation. No team is fearful of them, and they don’t impose their will at any point. They seem like a bunch of guys that are nice to be around but not ones you would want on your side in a battle.

The Cavs led by nine points at the half in Game 4, looking like they could cruise to a win and a 3-1 lead. Instead, they’re heading back to Cleveland tied 2-2 in a series that they seemed to prefer over facing the Miami Heat or Philadelphia 76ers. It's still a best-of-three series, but the momentum has clearly and dramatically shifted. The team in front of them is a better version of themselves from a few years ago, one that is hungry for more.

When will the Cavs show they want it more? Will they ever?