The Cleveland Cavaliers suffered a brutal loss on Saturday night, falling at home against the Golden State Warriors.
Golden State was missing Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green in the game, yet it knocked off the Cavs 99-94 even with Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley all in action.
Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor reported that the mood inside the Cavs’ locker room after the loss was “somber.”
“It was quiet,” Fedor said of the locker room. “It was somber. Players looked dejected, and they should have.”
The Cavs were expected to contend for a title in the 2025-26 season, but they have gotten off to a very slow start. Cleveland is currently the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference and just 14-11 through its first 25 games.
Last season, the Cavs had the best record in the Eastern Conference at 64-18, but they only need seven more losses this season to match their total from the 2024-25 campaign.
Injuries have played a role in the Cavs’ struggles this season, as Garland, Jarrett Allen, Max Strus and Sam Merrill have all missed time. Still, Cleveland shouldn’t be losing to the Warriors when they’re missing three star veterans, especially in a home game for the Cavs.
Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson has some work to do, and he will need to ensure that the somber mood in the locker room doesn’t linger after the loss to Golden State.
Cleveland has several days off this week and won’t play again until Friday night against the Washington Wizards. Washington has the worst record in the Eastern Conference at 3-19, so the Cavs should be able to get back in the win column in that matchup.
While it hasn’t been the start to the season that the Cavs had originally hoped for, they are still very much in the mix for a top-four seed in the East. Cleveland is just one game back of the No. 4 seed and 1.5 games back of the No. 3 seed.
Still, Cleveland has to turn things around sooner rather than later if it wants to be taken seriously as a title contender this season.