Written by Erik Cassano

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The essentials:

1. This was the Cavs' 19th loss in a row, tying the franchise record for consecutive losses in a season, set in the 1981-82 season. It's also worth noting that the Cavs possess the NBA record for consecutive losses at 24. That 19-game losing streak bled over to the following season for five more games. This Cavs team, however, will almost certainly set a new league record for consecutive losses, neatly wrapped up into one campaign. The next time they play a team anywhere close to their putrid level, it will be Feb. 13 against the Wizards. That's eight games from now.

2. This is what it's like when a team really stops giving a crap: In addition to never playing a second of meaningful defense in any game, the Cavs' offense has pretty much devolved into a game of H-O-R-S-E. If you get the ball and you are beyond the three-point arc, you shoot. If you are Daniel Gibson and you get the ball inside the three-point arc, you dribble to the nearest spot outside the three-point arc and shoot. That is how you go 8-for-26 from deep, as the Cavs did on Friday. Gibson went 5-for-11 by himself.

3. In other words, the Cavs are your college intramural team. Except instead of a bunch of short, slow white guys with delusions of becoming Mark Price, these guys are NBA players with NBA bank accounts.

4. Not that it was all bad. The Cavs did manage to shoot their way back to within six points in the fourth quarter. Nobody within viewing distance thought they were actually going to win, but they did display a pinpoint of competitive light for about six or seven minutes in the second half.

5. Carmelo Anthony had a game-high 33 points. He's still a Nugget. He's still hellbent on hooking up with Amare Stoudemire and Chris Paul in New York. Every superstar and their brother is still going to want to form their own version of the Miami Heat in a city where the dance clubs stay open until 6 a.m. The lunatics are still running the asylum, and the league still has a nice, big mess on its hands. You do not want to be David Stern right now.

Oh, to be a fly on the wall:

What happens in the Cavs' locker room pregame? What happens at halftime? Do the players tune Byron Scott out? Has Scott stopped coaching? Does Scott spend halftime out by the loading dock with a cigarette and a cup of coffee, texting his agent? Whatever is happening, it's becoming apparent that the players are running with little, if any, structure. Either Scott has lost the team, or Scott is counting down the days until he can submit his resignation letter and forget that he ever spent a season coaching the post-LeBron Cavs.

Scott won three titles as a player. He took the Nets to two NBA Finals as a coach. He's been through the meatball-surgery portion of rebuilds in New Jersey and New Orleans. He has to be jaded by what's going on right now. The Cavs probably need a young coach who is intrigued by the prospect of overseeing his first rebuilding project. Scott has been there and done that, perhaps a little too much. He is saying the right things to the media, but the team's play suggests a very different attitude behind the scenes.

Don't be scared, Chris Grant:

Your one major move as an NBA GM so far has panned out. Ramon Sessions could be the starting point guard for this team for quite a while. Friday, he managed 14 points and 13 assists, and wasn't responsible for a single turnover. So you are capable of making solid personnel decisions. So unlock your knees, take a deep breath, remove the deer antlers and get out of the headlight beams. Make some moves. Upset the apple cart. It's OK. You can do this. We're all here for you, Chris.

Up next for the Cavs:

At Orlando, Sunday, 6 p.m.