This time last season, the Cleveland Cavaliers were 42-11, and once again favorites to make it out of the Eastern Conference.  They were, of course, led by LeBron James, and after losing to Boston in the 2nd round, doubt hung in the air on whether he would return to the team.  Then came July, when James announced his departure to Miami, Dan Gilbert’s letter, and fans burning jerseys.  Since then, the Cavs are steadily collapsing.

Cleveland played the Detroit Pistons (19-33) and many speculated that they would end their losing streak, but once again they came up short.  The Cavs had the lead early, but after an 11-2 run by the Pistons at the end of the 1st quarter, they just couldn’t catch up.  The bench only had 17 points, 12 of which came from Daniel Gibson.  After the game  Head Coach Byron Scott stated, “That was probably the worst effort we’ve had in a month.  It’s that simple.  We didn’t come ready to compete.”  The Cavaliers have now lost 26 straight games, and have lost 36 of 37 games.  They hold an 8-45 record.

Brightside (kinda): Three players scored in double figures: Jamison (22), Sessions (20), and Hickson (18), and the team shot 51.4%.  Also, the team is 27th in offensive stats, ahead of Charlotte, New Jersey, and Milwaukee, and 27th in defensive stats, ahead of Utah, Boston, and Detroit.

It’s better than being dead last, so there is some hope, right?  Maybe, maybe not.

Kateasa is a part-time contributor of Stacheketball, and has been jackpotting around all day because it snowed again.  She misses Jerry Sloan already, and bought a heart-shaped waffle maker, so there’s that.  Find her on Twitter: @Simply_Kateasa