Windhorst: Cavaliers "Basically Boycotted" 29-Point Loss to Trail Blazers

Fallout from the Cleveland Cavaliers mid-season firing of Head Coach David Blatt is drifting thickly through the air. One of the more interesting tidbits came during yesterday's ESPN's "Right Time with Bomani Jones" show. Chronicling long-standing struggles between Blatt as his team, guest Brian Windhorst let slip speculation about Cleveland's 29-point loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on December 26th.

Windhorst detailed a sudden, unannounced change in rotation during Cleveland's Christmas Day game versus the Golden State Warriors...their biggest matchup of the season to that point. Blatt benched veterans Mo Williams and Richard Jefferson without informing or polling his roster, a move which Windhorst suggested he didn't have the capital or credibility to pull off.

"The players were so upset that he didn't communicate with them, didn't give them a chance to understand or discuss the decision that they basically boycotted the game the next night. They played a game in Portland and they got blown off the floor. They were never competitive from the first five minutes on against a Portland team that's frankly not very good."

The Blazers won that game 105-76 as LeBron James attempted only 13 shots, firing at a 31% rate.

Clips from the game don't make a convincing argument for the Cavaliers' enthusiasm.