Turn out the lights, this party is over for Cavaliers

It's all over now but the farewells for the Cavaliers, whose season lurched one day closer to an ignominious conclusion Saturday, compliments of the New York Knicks. The final score was 121-108, and it wasn't that close. The Knicks simply dismantled the Cavs on the Cavs' home court, all but ending the final chapter of this disappointing season. The Knicks, who went wire to wire in the game, demolished the home team, as the Cavs tried vainly to put up a fight, but there was virtually no fight to be had. Donovan Mitchell tried to get the troops trooping, but there was virtually no response. It was a familiar script for Kenny's Kids, who were simply outmanned, outplayed, and outcompeted. The final stanza of this Cavs season will go into the books Monday, when the Knicks hit the bricks following one final empty appearance on the team's home court. For most of the night Saturday, the Cavs' defense was dreadful, their offense was dreadful and the Knicks were more than happy to have the court pretty much to themselves for most of the evening. It was an all-around disaster that quickly quieted the home crowd, which was left only with the chance to see former Cavs coach Mike Brown and his current team go through what was basically nothing more than a low-impact workout. At the end of the first quarter, the Cavs were already losing 39-27, and it only got worse from there. TV analysts Richard Jefferson (a former Cavs player) and Tim Legler, spent most of the evening pointing out all of the dreadful missed calls by the referees and missed shots by the Cavs. The Cavs' defense was awful. Mitchell and James Harden both looked like they were either injured or uninterested, as though they'd rather be somewhere else other than Rocket Arena, where scores of Knicks fans spent most of the night cheering for the visitors, and just shaking their heads at the home team. Indeed, it was obvious that once the game began, that the Knicks were more than happy to turn it into a rout, the sooner, the better. If Monday's expected Cavs loss is anything like Saturday's, there will be little, if any, long lines of customers on their way out. If Saturday's exercise in nothingness revealed anything, it was that this Cavs team, and these Cavs architects, have a lot of work to do before the start of next season. Analists Legler and Jefferson took turns pointing out the Cavs' lack of commitment to what was, to be fair, nothing more than a glorified workout. The Cavs were unable to do anything to stop the momentum of the visitors. At no time during the game did the Cavs play like a winner. At no time did the Cavs threaten the Knickerbockers in any competitive way. Translation: The Cavs have lots of work to do starting today. Despite the team's reasonably competitive season, when push came to shove, the Cavs' big men once again got pushed and shoved off the floor, which only left more room for Jaylen Brunson and other New York bullies to have their way. The Cavs have players, but they lack a team. That, more than anything, should be Job 1 for the organization's rebuild. At one point in the game the Knicks led the Cavs in fastbreak points, 17-0. That is not a misprint. It was the kind of game in which both parties knew exactly how the game was going to turn out. And, sure enough, it did. Clearly, there are some personnel decisions that will have to be discussed before the start of next season. Mitchell looked like he was laboring throughout the game. Harden was not Harden, and Cavs' sharpshooter Sam Merrill at no time during the game was anything close to the breathtaking sharpshooter who thrilled Cavs fans throughout the season. In truth, this was one of those games in which you sort of knew how it was going to turn out before it even started. For the Knicks it was four quarters of excitement. For the Cavs it was four quarters of dreadfulness. After Monday, there will be no more hoops in Cleveland. But there will be plenty of executive brain-storming. Contact Jim Ingraham at jingraham4@gmail.com.