Thank goodness for Eric Collins

who made the worst loss of the season at least a little bit bearable

On Wednesday night Caris LeVert pushed the ball up the floor. The Hornets were nursing a 96-91 lead over the Cavs, and Charlotte's legendarily enthusiastic play-by-play man Eric Collins noted that "We haven't seen the Hornets score a hundred points in two weeks!"

Having no illusions after watching the league's second-worst offense all season, he quickly cautioned that, "we haven’t got there yet."

There were two minutes left in the third quarter.

Charlotte proved Collins wrong, eclipsing the century mark some fifty seconds later with the second of two Tre Mann Free throws. While the Cavs did hold the Hornets to just 18 points in the fourth quarter, they traveled and jogged and bricked their way to just 15 of their own in a 118-111 loss.

By effort and execution–Charlotte mosly scored at will and Cleveland didn't for the final 3:27 of the game–and by circumstance–the Cavs dropped to fourth in the East behind New York–it was the worst loss of the season.

The playoff race is on. It has been for several weeks. And yet the threat of losing home court advantage and Max Strus's energetic 19-point return weren't enough to spark any urgency in the slouching Cavaliers.

Playing the tough-nosed Orlando Magic in the first round, on the road, is now a real possibility. So is dropping to the sixth seed. The Cavs haven't looked like their formerly elite selves in over a month. They are three and seven in their last ten games.

Thank goodness I watched the Hornets broadcast.

For 48 minutes Collins and color commentator Dell Curry brought an undeniably hilarious blend of out-of-nowhere infectious energy and familiar banter. Summer hobbies, Jarrett Allen's switch from Herbal Essence shampoo to Head and Shoulders, plenty of yelps and screams—they ran the gamut.

One "Niiiiiiiaaaaang," from Collins even took me back to my days flying a toy plane around the living room.

Turn your volume up.

Despite cringing at Caris LeVert misses and DG unforced errors, Charlotte's coverage of the game made me smile.

Yes, that’s because Curry and Collins are hilarious in an effortless and genuine kind of way. But it’s also because their broadcast took me back to those not-so-distant days when the rebuilding Cavs totally stunk; back to the losing streaks when flowing conversation and emotional and vocal investment in small flashes of improvement were what kept fans going.

It's why the euphoria in Collins' voice as he celebrated the best night of Brandon Miller’s young career felt heartwarmingly familiar. Miller, Charlotte's second overall pick in last year’s draft, had a career-high 31 points. Seeing him flex his arms and hug teammates in a rarely raucous Spectrum Center reminded me of Collin Sexton taking on the Nets, or a Cedi Osman-powered Cavalanche. These flashbacks let me imagine, for a minute, that the Cavs too played without expectations.

But that's of course not true.

Dan Gilbert is reportedly confident Donovan Mitchell will resign with the Cavaliers this offseason. But Spida’s decision, and the Cavs continued ascendence, depends on how the Wine & Gold fare this postseason. And how they fare in the playoffs depends on who they play, where, and with what effort and habits.

These are all things that need establishing and reestablishing over the next nine games. Here's hoping Mitchell's somewhat likely return tonight against the Sixers is a start, and that Tobias Harris, who hasn't taken a single charge in a Philadelphia uniform, doesn't get any crazy ideas.

Cheers, and go Cavs.