Flipping The Switch Won't Work For The Cavs In The Playoffs

The Cleveland Cavaliers can't keep relying on fourth-quarter comebacks in the NBA postseason.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are getting ready for the team's first playoff series as a core of Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen. It's also Cleveland's first postseason appearance since 2018 and their first time in the playoffs with a LeBron James lead team since 1998.

The Cavs want to make a deep playoff run and establish themselves as true Finals contenders and one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference for years to come. 

However, there's one thing that could get in the way of this.

Cleveland has found themselves down by double-digits in four of the last five games. The Pacers' larger lead of the night was 11 points, the Knicks and Hawks each climbed out to a 15-point lead, and the Nets established a 10-point lead in the second of their two matchups. 

The Cavs were able to win two of these four games due to flipping the switch and playing high-level defense in the fourth quarter. The Cavs outscored their opponent in the fourth quarter in each of those games, outside of New York.

Since March 23, Cleveland is holding their opponent to 20.6 points in the fourth quarter and 28.6 percent from behind the arc. At the same time, the Cavs are scoring an average of 26.2 points in the fourth quarter in that same time frame.

But this won't work in the playoffs. 

The postseason presents a high level of intensity from the moment the ball is tipped. If the Cavs wait until the fourth quarter to turn up the notch then they'll be long out of the game. 

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