It’s kind of a mess in Cleveland. Well, sort of. Not great, Jim. Early on, the case can be made that it’s just one game. But if it’s one game, then two games, then three games. The same issues on the glass, defending the three. 

Allowing 100 points over the first 33 minutes of the contest to a team that only averaged 96 per game and is down 60% of its starters is extremely troubling. That’s what happened on the road against a 3-7 squad. A very tough day at the office for James Harden.

But then the fourth quarter happened. And it sort of changed the narrative of the game. Let’s talk about the shockingly exciting final period.

Nearly Erasing 33-Point Hole

Make no mistake, this day is going to go down as a memorable one for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The whole starting five was out there, and they faced a team that had three starters missing. And still, a 33-point deficit was what they saw.

Kenny Atkinson decided to open the fourth quarter with a group of all reserves. They responded by going on a 12-3 run to force a quick Hornets timeout. They had the run up to 19-6 overall, and then kept things going.

With a few minutes to play, they cut things down to just eight. A 19-point improvement from the start of the frame.

The group that led the rally was Craig Porter Jr., Riley Minix, Meleek Thomas, Norchad Omier, and Thomas Bryant. A pair of two-way guys, a couple of veterans, and the talented second-round rookie. The Arkansas product is expected to deliver now, but everybody else has had all their strongest showings of the season.

There were probably a lot of TVs that were turned off early. They missed the first strong performance of the campaign from Porter, who has been getting minutes but not many playmaking opportunities. Thomas showed for the first time that he can lead.

And Bryant reminded folks what he’s been doing in the league for a long time.

THAT'S OUR ROOK.@ThomasMeleek | #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/DOTheUz0Ui

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) November 10, 2026

The reserves made the game watchable, but could not rescue the Cavs from the abyss.

What Happens Now?

There are going to be some repercussions for losing ever being down by as much as they were, and it will certainly heat up Kenny Atkinson’s seat even more.

Could a change be coming to the starting lineup? James Harden is on a guaranteed three-year deal, and a lot has been made of possibly fracturing the relationship by moving the vet to the bench. But it’s not working when he plays with Donovan Mitchell. That would appear to be the most likely move.

Meleek Thomas has already proven to be good enough to start in this league. And while Sam Merrill and Jaylon Tyson remain out, the team has clearly missed their connectors. 

Credit to all the bench guys and end of bench players for trying. But it was already too late.

Cleveland is now 5-6, with a rematch at MSG coming on Wednesday.