Tyronn Lue: 'There's No Doubt' Cavaliers Will Make Playoffs Amid Struggles

The 30-21 Cleveland Cavaliers looked nothing like a playoff team during Saturday's 120-88 loss to the Houston Rockets, but head coach Tyronn Lue isn't worried about potentially missing the postseason.

"I mean we're still going to make the playoffs," Lue said Monday, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. "There's no doubt about that. We're still confident in that for sure."

Cleveland is the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference but is a mere 6-12 in its last 18 games and only five games ahead of the ninth-seeded Detroit Pistons.

The fact there is even a possibility the Cavaliers will miss the playoffs after reaching the last three NBA Finals is a testament to how disastrous they have been this season on the defensive end.

They are a mere 28th in the league in defensive rating, per NBA.com, and have allowed more than 100 points in eight of their last nine games.

"I would hope so," six-time All-Defensive selection LeBron James said when asked if it was a "given" Cleveland will make the playoffs, per McMenamin. "I don't think anybody's here not to make the playoffs."

The Cavaliers are still in position to make the playoffs barring further collapse, but the probability that they win their second Larry O'Brien Trophy in three years seems to be fading.

Kevin Love is out for multiple weeks after breaking his hand on Jan. 30. A week before the injury, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported there was a team meeting in which multiple teammates "challenged the legitimacy" of Love's missing practice and leaving a game with an illness.

Elsewhere, Isaiah Thomas has looked nothing like the version of himself that averaged 28.9 points per game last season on the Boston Celtics. He is averaging 15.2 points on a career-worst 36.4 percent shooting from field and continues to struggle on the defensive side.

The Cavaliers' defensive rating when Thomas is on the court this season is 115.4 compared to 108.4 when he is off the floor, per NBA.com.

On Jan. 16, McMenamin reported "multiple players acknowledged growing discontent and a strong sense of concern that unlike past seasons, the team does not have the capability to fix its problems and get back on a championship track."

The recent struggles have likely done nothing to quell that notion, but Cleveland does have a great chance to start winning again in the immediate future, with two of its next three games against the 15-36 Orlando Magic and 16-37 Atlanta Hawks.