Since acquiring Donovan Mitchell, the Cleveland Cavaliers have felt like a team on the brink of greatness. Yet, season after season, they fail to put the pieces together. Now, following a year where hopes were higher than ever, the franchise has hit a new low. Barely clinging to a Play-In tournament spot, the Cavs are searching for answers.
One former NBA champion-turned-analyst believes the problem is simple, and it might be too late to fix it.
Why Have the Cavaliers Stalled After Last Season?
Despite making the playoffs as the fourth seed in consecutive years, Cleveland seemed to hit a predictable ceiling. Their postseason journeys ended early with a first-round exit to the New York Knicks in the 2022-23 season and a second-round loss to the Boston Celtics the following year.
Then came last season, when they finally appeared to figure it out. The Cavs emerged as a 64-win juggernaut, sweeping the Coach of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards. However, that regular-season dominance evaporated in the playoffs. As the Indiana Pacers launched their Cinderella run, the Cavaliers became their first victims, bowing out in five games in the second round for the second straight year.
Still, the front office maintained the core. The organization alluded to injuries to Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton as clear signs that they could take care of business in a diminished Eastern Conference.
What Is Kendrick Perkins’ Criticism of the Team?
That gamble has resulted in their worst start of the last four years. At 15-13, Cleveland sits eighth in the standings, with consistently disappointing performances marring their schedule. According to Kendrick Perkins, these struggles boil down to one specific problem.
During an appearance on “NBA Today on ESPN,” the analyst blasted the excuses coming out of the locker room. “When I say horrible, I don’t want to hear about how emotional they have been. I don’t want to hear about how stressful it was this offseason.”
Perkins then identified the real issue. “They can’t win a championship with this small backcourt.” His rationale is straightforward. Even with the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in Evan Mobley, the team ranks just 14th in defensive rating for the year.
The problem lies with Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. Standing at 6-foot-2 and 6-foot-1, respectively, they form a bottom-five defensive unit. Perkins argues this size mismatch places a real cap on their ceiling. While it didn’t derail them in previous regular seasons, the league has seemingly adjusted, exploiting that weakness consistently in the 2025-26 campaign.
