WASHINGTON -- There are steps every rebuilding team must take.
The Cleveland Cavaliers took a few in the wrong direction on Wednesday night against the Washington Wizards.
Instead of building on Tuesday's dominant all-around performance -- the next step in a long process for these young Cavaliers -- they suffered more growing pains, going backward against the Wizards in a 119-95 loss.
Consider this yet another lesson.
The energy that fueled a blowout win one night earlier, the spunk the Cavs need to play with on a nightly basis to overcome obvious limitations, was lacking from the opening tip.