Before the Cavs' current five-game winning streak, some of the players on the roster weren't sure how far the team was equipped to go, per a report from Cleveland.com's Chris Haynes:
Under the condition of anonymity, some Cavs players admitted that they had lost faith because of the team's lack of depth. A handful of players said they came to realize the roster, as it was constructed before the trades, wasn't equipped to go any further than the second round, if that.
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Perhaps more importantly, the team's lack of faith in the roster was apparently more of a reason for the Cavs' poor play than head coach David Blatt, who has been under fire early this season, according to Haynes:
One player said the frustration of an "unbalanced roster probably contributed" to the players' poor body language and effort level. Another said "it was never Coach [David] Blatt's fault."
Shortly after acquiring J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert in a three-team trade with the Knicks and Thunder that shipped Dion Waiters out of town, the Cavs' fortunes started to turn. Shortly after that deal, the Cavs traded for center Timofey Mozgov to add defensive help around the rim.
The Cavs are now 24-20 on the season after demolishing the Hornets 129-90 in their last outing.
Source: NBC Sports