Cavs fall to Hawks as same old cracks keep showing up

The Cavaliers lost to the Hawks 130-123 on Friday night in Atlanta, and it wasn’t the kind of loss you can shake off with a quick “we’ll get ’em next time.”

Cleveland fell to 12-8. Atlanta moved to 12-8. And if the playoffs started today, the Cavs would be the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference.

One year removed from a 64-18 season, that’s a different world.

Kenny Atkinson kept it blunt afterward.

“They outplayed us. They outcoached us. We weren’t sharp,” he told reporters. “The playing wasn’t sharp. The coaching wasn’t sharp. We weren’t sharp enough.”

Not much to argue there.

This was an NBA Cup game, too. Cleveland is officially eliminated from advancing.

And here’s the part Cavs fans need to remember, because I keep coming back to it: The Pacers started last season 11-15. They went all the way to Game 7 of the Finals. It’s not how you start.

But through 20 games, the Cavs already have nearly half as many losses as last year’s entire 82-game season. Eight now. Eighteen then.

Injuries have played a role. Darius Garland has been in and out. Others have missed time. But the Hawks didn’t have Trae Young or Kristaps Porzingis.

Their two closest All-Star-level talents sat, and they still ran Cleveland off the floor in transition 36-17 and dominated the paint 64-46.

The Cavs look clunky. Out of sync. Like the Cavs from two seasons ago, not the 64-18 machine that played like a five-man fist.

Donovan Mitchell was spectacular again with 42. He’s Superman. But the Cavs feel a little too dependent on that cape right now. A real contender can’t live that way.

Evan Mobley’s line was impressive — 20 points, 14 rebounds, 3-for-6 from deep. One of his better games this season. The eye test still says he hasn’t been consistently dominant.

Garland had 15 points and 10 assists but turned it over five times. Jarrett Allen gave them eight points and eight boards. De’Andre Hunter, in his return to Atlanta, added 16. Jalen Tyson scored nine off the bench. The rest of the group played fine. Just not enough.

And that’s the theme. Not enough.

This isn’t panic time. Far from it. With 62 games left, no one should lose sleep over a road loss in November. But you don’t want shaky habits becoming your identity.

You don’t want to lose the sharpness, the fire, the togetherness that made last year what it was.

The Hawks’ Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 30. Jalen Johnson scored 29. The Cavs had no answers. No stops late. No winning plays.

Toughness decides road games in this league. The Cavs didn’t show enough of it.

If this is still happening in February or March, then we’ll talk. For now, it’s a caution light. Not a siren.