Cavaliers hit rock bottom after allowing 148 to OKC

Do the Cleveland Cavaliers have any shame?

Cleveland suffered its 11th loss of its past 15 games by giving up a franchise-record 148 points in regulation to the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.

Even being on national television wasn't enough to motivate the team. The Cavaliers also had the benefit of an early start against a visiting Western Conference opponent, yet it was Cleveland that looked sleepy and lifeless throughout. OKC opened up a 40-20 advantage in the first quarter and never looked back.

The Thunder shot 58 percent from the field, hit 14 threes, tried 28 free throws, grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, and had 37 assists. Carmelo Anthony had a season-high 29 points while easily outplaying LeBron James, Russell Westbrook had 20 assists in another near triple-double, and Paul George was unstoppable as he scored 36 points on just 19 shots.

It was another shambolic showing by the three-time reigning East champions, who have lost by a combined 62 points to Toronto and Minnesota while squandering 20-point advantages against Indiana and Orlando in the last two weeks.

And even with all those letdown performances, this OKC loss takes the cake.

It's not as if the Thunder are a juggernaut on offense. OKC ranked 12th in offensive rating coming into Saturday's game and managed just 95 points against the Sacramento Kings - the only team with a wonkier defense than Cleveland - earlier in the week.

It was just another example of how comically bad the Cavaliers are at defending. This is what happens when a veteran team is disinterested, disorganized, and dysfunctional. They're more concerned with pointing fingers at one another than taking responsibility and guarding their man.

It starts at the top with James, who looked every bit like a 33-year-old with more than 50,000 minutes on his resume. He got the assignment against George and could barely be bothered to move. No wonder the latter finished with 36 points in 32 minutes while James was a minus-33.

Cleveland's next-best defender behind James is Tristan Thompson, who draws more than $16 million in salary for nothing else other than to get stops. And yet, he gave up 25 points on 12-of-13 shooting to Steven Adams, while exhibiting no command over the defense.

Asking an undersized Isaiah Thomas to guard the uber-athletic Russell Westbrook was just pouring gas on the fire. The reigning MVP made Thomas look like a child as he repeatedly blew by him with no help at the rim.

These aren't cherry-picked examples from an off game; it's what happens every night for the Cavaliers. And while they deserve the benefit of the doubt during disinterested losses in January, no James-led team has ever looked this lifeless.

If Cleveland had an internal solution, it would've presented itself by now.

Thomas played his best game in a Cavs uniform, scoring 24 points on 14 shots, yet he was still a minus-24 in 26 minutes. That's because the Cavs needs defense, and Thomas is quite possibly the worst defender in the league. With him up top and the plodding Kevin Love behind him, the Cavaliers are practically begging to be exploited in the pick-and-roll. He's not the answer.

Neither are Derrick Rose and Jae Crowder, who can't play defense or make outside shots. Crowder is hitting 31.1 percent from deep while Rose is making 21.4 percent. They've both also been minus defenders on the year.

Cleveland's established veterans have taken a step back, too. Thompson is a shell of himself and J.R. Smith is the worst starter on any playoff-bound team. The bench is decent, but none of those players can be expected to start.

They need to be active at the trade deadline or these results will repeat themselves. This is a roster full of players on the wrong side of 30 who are hoping for a free ride on James' back, except he's tired of carrying everyone after seven straight Finals appearances. He made that abundantly clear when he gave his teammates the silent treatment.

Adding DeAndre Jordan would fortify their back line, while poaching George Hill would be an improvement at both guard spots. The Cavaliers have the picks and matching salary to make those deals happen, but team owner Dan Gilbert doesn't have the stomach to sell the farm for one last run at The Finals.

Then again, if they don't fix the second-worst defense in the league, there might not be a last run.