Cavs snap 12-game skid: All the Cleveland Cavaliers needed to snap their season-long 12-game losing streak was to see old teammate LeBron James again, writes cleveland.com's Chris Fedor. Of course, James wasn't in uniform for the final matchup of the season against Cleveland, dressed in a suit while his new squad continued to struggle without its star. The Cavs took advantage, beating the Lakers 101-95 on Sunday night. Read more.

Season is fun? Following a 17-point night where coach Larry Drew said he noticed growth in his rookie point guard, Collin Sexton used the F-word to describe this season. No, not that one. The other one. Fun, writes Fedor. Yes, believe it or not, Sexton used that for a season in which the Cavs have the league's worst record. “It’s fun,” he said with a straight face. “It’s a growing experience, it’s something new to me and I’m having fun doing it.” Read more.

The curious case of Cedi and LeBron: The relationship between Cedi Osman and LeBron James got off on the wrong foot. Literally, writes Fedor. "The thing I remember clearly is how quiet that gym got," Cavs coach Larry Drew recalls about Sept. 27, 2017. "Practice is going. There's all the talk, all the chatter and then that happened and it was just total silence." In his opening scrimmage, Osman stepped on James' foot, sending the franchise player hobbling off the court with a nasty ankle sprain. Read more.

View from Pluto: This season has brought much of the same story as 2010-11. For those who love the big picture basketball with lots of analytics and adding ping-pong balls for the next draft lottery, this could be somewhat interesting, writes Plain Dealer columnist Terry Pluto. He adds, it’s agony for the fans who buy tickets – or even watch on TV. Read more.

Defense and history not on Cavs' side: The countless questions about Cleveland's ranking in the main defensive categories have been exhausted over the last couple of years, writes Fedor. The 2017-18 season seemed to be the low point. Then came this year. Coaches, players, executives, they are all aware of the numbers. Read more.

Thompson calls out teammates: Tristan Thompson believes there's been enough time for the young Cavaliers to learn, writes Fedor. It's January. More than half of the season has been played. It's time to bring those first-half-of-the-year lessons to the court. The Cavs failed to do that on Friday night, ignoring the game plan and getting blown out by the Houston Rockets -- a game in which Cleveland trailed by 44 at one point in the second half. Read more.
 

National stories
Boring Blazers? Following the Lakers matchup, the Cavs are in Portland on Wednesday night. Check out a recent podcast from OregonLive on the Blazers and if their season has been boring. Listen here.

Is it the shoes? To keep up with shoe fashion, and an inter-squad race between Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook and Paul George, ESPN's Nick DePaula detailed the week that was in NBA sneaker fashion. Read more.

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Today's birthdays: Wayne Hightower (1940), Swen Nater (1950), Aaron Brooks (1985), Cavaliers guard David Nwaba (1993)