Good morning. Let’s basketball.

Portrait of Hieronymus Holzschuher; Albrecht Durer; 1526

Coming off of their season-best 16-game winning streak, the Cleveland Cavaliers have now lost three straight games. The latest loss in Sacramento was the team’s 13th on the season, guaranteeing they will not win 70 games.

Are the Cavaliers in crisis?

No, of course not. Cleveland’s spurt was a dreaded 3-game-in-4-days span, one that also included flying from Cleveland to Los Angeles. The Cavaliers also had their full starting line-up for only the Clippers game; Evan Mobley rested against the Magic and Darius Garland rested against the Kings. Also, they are now 16-4 in their last 20. That’s tied (with Boston, of course) for the league’s second-best record in that span, a game behind Oklahoma City (of course).

There are some interesting wrinkles to glean for teams facing the Cavaliers in the playoffs. Los Angeles did much of their damage with Ivica Zubac inside. The doubts of the stoutness of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley in lane combat remain. With the Kings, it was more of a small line-up causing issues on both ends: Keon Ellis and Devin Carter harassed Donovan Mitchell 90 feet, adding more fatigue in a close game, while DeMar DeRozan targeted Mobley on the perimeter to take away the (half of the) shotblocking at the rim.

In the end, all three opponents were unexpectedly hot from deep. The three teams are in the bottom 12 in three-point rate this season (L.A. and Sacramento are bottom six); all three outscored Cleveland, No. 5 in the three-point rate, from behind the arc. It happens, and it doesn’t have to mean anything.

The playoffs are almost here. Well, the playoffs are almost here for the Cavaliers. They are probably almost here for the Magic and for one of the Clippers and Kings.

Nothing outside of major injury that happens to Boston, Cleveland or Oklahoma City for the remainder of the regular season should impact how you think about their postseason chances. These teams are and should be in cruise control. ...