Surrendering a massive 29-point lead in their season opener to a conference rival? Yeah, that wasn’t exactly the plan for the Cleveland Cavaliers to kick off their season. “It sucks, it’s frustrating,” Mario Hezonja said a couple of days after the gut-wrenching loss. Talk about a tough pill to swallow, especially when you remember how last season ended against the New York Knicks. But for the Cavs, this isn’t just a bad loss; it’s a brutal lesson in a skill that’s becoming crucial: playing with a big lead in a league where comebacks are seemingly more common than ever. We’ve seen it already this season, with the Detroit Pistons erasing a 22-point deficit to beat the Boston Celtics on opening day. And remember the Knicks and Indiana Pacers last two postseasons, tearing it up precisely because they could overcome huge deficits. This ain’t just bad luck.
The NBA’s Wild Possession Game
So, what’s going on? Why are we seeing these huge leads disappear? Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson has a couple of very practical reasons for why teams are surrendering leads. “Live-ball turnovers are up, and three-point variance,” Atkinson said, laying it out. “That’s the NBA. People shoot so many threes, so you got a lot of variance. You got the turnovers, and you got the rebounding. It all equals a possession game.” He even pointed to their game against the Philadelphia 76ers as a prime example of this chaos. In the first half, the Sixers coughed up the ball eight more times than the Cavs. But then the second half flipped completely, with the Cavs having thirteen more giveaways than the Sixers. “You lose the possession game, now they got more opportunities. Now a big lead can evaporate.” It’s not rocket science, but when the ball is flying around and shots are raining down, those possessions multiply fast.
Mastering the Mental Marathon
Beyond the raw stats and turnovers, there’s a huge mental battle going on when you’re playing with a big lead. Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla touched on it when he talked about the “particular mental training that you have to have for that.” He made a great point: when a team is up by 22, it’s not just about them playing great. The other team is just as much a “culprit” in why they are down that much. “So I think it’s a dual relationship to a lead.” The Cavs are trying to wrap their heads around this idea and change how they actually view these big leads. Hezonja said it best: “Just because you have a 30, 20 point lead doesn’t mean anything really. You got to treat it as a 10-point lead or no lead at all mentally.” It’s like a marathon, not a sprint, and you can’t ease up. And let’s be real, the stakes play a part too. Playoff games and opening night? They hit different than your average January showdown. This Cleveland team has got to figure out how to mentally lock in for the full 48.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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