NBA Playoffs: Chemistry in Question As Cleveland Cavaliers' Tailspin Continues

Theories abound regarding the ongoing, and rather painful to watch, collapse of the Cleveland Cavaliers in their playoff series with Boston:

• The supporting cast around LeBron James is weak.

• James is a regular season wunderkind, but lacks the heart of a champion.

• Mike Brown is consistently overmatched by opposing coaches in the postseason.

• James plans to leave Cleveland this summer, and it is affecting his desire and focus at the worst possible time.

It’s possible that any or all of those things is true.

Taking shots at the Cavaliers is too easy right now. Then again, you can’t blame anyone for doing it, and the Cavs deserve it.

When expectations are high, and effort is as bad as it’s been, the aftermath is not pretty.

As Charles Barkley said during TNT’s postgame show Tuesday night, it’s not the fact that the Cavs lost that is so shocking, it’s that they lost by 32 points, and gave up while doing so.

It needn’t have happened. The Cavaliers led by three after one quarter, and stretched that lead to eight, 29-21, early in the second. It was shaping up to be a hotly contested, entertaining NBA playoff game.

Then the Celtics punched Cleveland in the mouth with a 16-0 run, and the Cavs folded.

Think about that. They surrendered control by going nearly six minutes without scoring a point, in a crucial game, on their own floor.

It was all over, even if it was technically still “a game” at halftime.

The Celtics believed, and the Cavs didn’t. It was that simple.

Does anybody doubt what is going to happen Thursday night in Boston? The Celtics don’t. The Cavaliers clearly do.

There’s no need to over-analyze this one. The result speaks for itself. The difference between the two teams was obvious to anyone watching.

That’s why it’s worthwhile to read what Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote in today’s edition .

Windhorst is an outstanding beat writer and a straight shooter. He’s co-authored a book about James and has written plenty of articles praising the two-time MVP, but he’s never hesitant to level criticism when it’s due.

In the article, Windhorst sounds a frightening alarm about the chemistry of the Cavaliers, something that has rarely been questioned.

He makes it clear that James has become distant, players are upset over playing time and the unpredictability of Brown’s rotations, and that Brown himself seems incapable of making the in-game adjustments needed to win in the postseason.

What the Cavaliers had going for them all season long appears to have dissolved in a puddle of playoff futility. If Windhorst’s words are prophetic, the organization is destined for a rocky offseason.

Clevelanders have experienced the depths of desperation and despair— be it over the Cavaliers, Indians or Browns— too many times to count.

They hope, but they also know: For the Cavaliers to rebound and steal Game Six in Boston would be nothing short of miraculous.

Joseph Heller once spoke for doubters everywhere: “I don’t believe in miracles," he wrote, "because it’s been a long time since we’ve had any.”

Cleveland fans know the feeling.