Cavs continue 2017 slide with loss to Brow-less Pelicans

So much for a happy new year.

2016 must seem like ages ago for the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers, whose Monday night loss to a New Orleans Pelicans team missing All-Star Anthony Davis was their sixth in 10 games.

Cleveland's Big Three of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love combined for 97 points, 28 rebounds, and 22 assists in New Orleans - with Irving pouring in 49 points and James recording a triple-double - but the remaining six Cavs who saw floor time combined for only 25 points on 10-of-29 shooting.

It's the latest curious result for Cleveland in a long list of them since the Cavs edged the Golden State Warriors in a thrilling Finals rematch on Christmas Day.

Over the four weeks since that statement victory, which saw Cleveland improve to 23-6, the Cavs have played .500 ball, with four of their seven losses coming against losing teams, and the Warriors exacting revenge in the form of a 35-point blowout.

Even more concerning, James has suited up for all but one of the 14 contests the Cavs have played during this run of rather pedestrian performances, and he's made a very un-LeBron-like difference.

If there's a silver lining, it's that the Cavs emerge from this slide still holding a 2.5-game lead over second-place Toronto in the Eastern Conference standings, with the Raptors mired in a slump of their own. In addition, only three of Cleveland's next 12 games leading up to the All-Star break feature matchups with winning teams, so a tumble down the East ladder remains unlikely, as do the chances of any East challenger beating Cleveland four out of seven times - let alone without home-court advantage.

Still, challengers and observers alike have been desperately searching years for even the slightest crack in the foundation of a James-led team. Smart money may be on the Cavs righting the ship and LeBron appearing in his seventh straight NBA Finals come June, but should 2017 be the year James' East reign finally comes to an end, we may look back at this troubling stretch as the first sign of those cracks.