Cavs look unprepared, uninspired in ugly loss to Lakers

Originally posted on Hoops Wire | By Sam Amico | Last updated Apr 1, 2026 3:47 AM ET

Random dribbles following the Cavaliers’ 127-113 road loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.

1. Well, Jarrett Allen was really good early. That was about the only positive to come from this one.

2. Allen was good. Donovan Mitchell was not. Evan Mobley was flat-out bad.

3. One night after erupting for 34 points and 17 rebounds against the Jazz, Mobley finished with six and four. That’s not a dip. That’s a disappearance. Lakers radio play-by-play man John Ireland put it this way: “Mobley looks lost out there.”

4. This isn’t meant to pick on one guy — as this was truly a teamwide collapse, coaching staff included. The Cavs didn’t look prepared for anything beyond a preseason game.

5. They had no energy, very little fight. They still can’t keep opponents off the glass. They still get killed too often in the intangibles. Defense. Rebounding. Loose balls. Free throws. These things matter. It can’t all be about just scoring points.

6. That’s especially the case when your two All-Stars are no-shows. Mitchell’s first attempt of the night came off the opening tip. And that driving layup was swatted into the stands by LeBron James before most Lakers fans had even gotten to their seats.

7. Mitchell was 1-of-6 for two points at halftime. Somehow (mostly Allen), the Cavs only trailed by 12. He finished 4-of-10 shooting for 10 points.

8. In fairness, Mitchell and Mobley are allowed to have off nights. Everyone is. And everyone did. That’s not the concern.

9. The bigger issue is that the Cavs (47-29) have had a cupcake schedule lately. The Lakers were the first real team they’ve faced in about two weeks. And all those bad habits against the cupcakes aren’t going to work against real teams. In fact, they’ll lead to nights like this.

10. Lack of defense on the perimeter. Second-chance points. Occasional breakdowns on offense. You can live that way and still hang on to beat the Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls. But against Luka Doncic, LeBron and the Lakers, you’ll get run out of the gym.

11. In other words, bad habits are gonna cost you against good opponents. Beating a bunch of lottery or play-in teams doesn’t really tell you much about where you stand.

12. Allen finished with 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting. Old-school stuff. Problem is, it mostly came early. The game got away, and so did his impact.

13. James Harden scored 17, but finished with just three assists and zero rebounds. I’ll never understand why the Cavs as a team don’t rebound better. Like Mobley, Allen grabbed just four. At least Thomas Bryant (14 points, 5-of-7 shooting) had six.

14. Doncic did absolutely whatever he wanted for the Lakers (50-26). Forty-two points, 12 assists, zero turnovers. All without hardly breakling a sweat.

15. LeBron finished with a pedestrian 14 points. He’s not going to beat you anymore. But he will if you just sort of stand around and watch, and that was basically the Cavs.

16. Again, a bad night is hardly a reason for panic. But bad habits are another thing. And the Cavs have way too many with just six games to go. All of those issues showed up here and the result wasn’t pretty.

BOX SCORE | Lakers 127, Cavs 113

This article first appeared on Hoops Wire and was syndicated with permission.

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