Scott Souza has some excellent quotes and analysis following yesterday's debacle:

Rasheed Wallace determined: "At some points of the game, they had more energy than us. It looked like they wanted it more in certain points. You know, you can't fight that."

Can't fight that? How can you not fight that? If you can't fight that against a 5-52 - OK, now 6-52 - team, then how exactly do you expect to fight for home court advantage in the second round of the playoffs? If you even still want it at after dropping to just 16-11 on the parquet this season?

Exactly Scott.  And that is assuming they can get out of the first round, which I have my doubts.  The last two seasons they narrowly escaped the Hawks and Bulls, who were clearly hungrier and more athletic in the first round.  If the season ended today they would face the Bulls again this season, a team that has stayed thirsty and improved.  How can you fight that?!

Kendrick Perkins wrapped up the sentiment of many who endured the performance: "How many wake up calls are we going to get?"

Rivers has stopped counting, and wasn't exactly shouldering the load for the downturn either.

"We told them yesterday: It ain't the system," he said. "It's our heads. It's between our ears."

The two quotes above illustrate two very different neuronal pathways between the ears.  I'm not clear why Sheed has been on the floor to finish games, when we clearly need stops.  I assume it is because we are falling behind by double-digits and Doc wants Sheed out there to spread the floor and help shoot our way back into a game.  I don't agree with that logic, but I can't come up with another explanation.

"We're all trying to figure this thing out," Allen said. "There's no dissension. There's no bad air in the locker room. Everybody's ears are open to listen."

Whenever the questions ranged toward strategy and motivation from the coaching staff, the players quickly shrugged that off as a potential root cause. Perhaps it was because they are embarrassed about needing more direction or discipline. Perhaps it was because they simply knew finger pointing wouldn't help fix whatever is wrong.

I'm officially nicknaming Ray Allen, The Tugboat, because he seems to have the company line in tow.  I'm sorry, but none of this is adding up.  Maybe, there's no dissension, but there is clearly a lack of buy-in.  Sell me on a simple lack of execution against the Cavs and I'll believe you, but sell me the same line after a loss against the league's worst team...and I'm calling shenanigans.