CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland Cavaliers are slumping.

Not even a LeBron James triple-double or signature Kyrie Irving offensive outburst could pull them out of it Monday night.

With Anthony Davis, New Orleans' best player, in street clothes, the Cavs fell behind by 20 after an uninspired first half. Cleveland rallied in the second, unable to complete the comeback. The loss to New Orleans is the Cavs' fifth in the last seven games, with the only wins coming against non-playoff teams Sacramento and Phoenix.

Typical January malaise. Rotational experimentation. Not used to being the target.

Nothing to see here, right?

Perhaps that's true. Perhaps fans will be able to look back at this stretch and have a chuckle when the Cavs hoist the trophy for the second straight year. Or perhaps the champs are developing some nasty habits and showing some exploitable flaws that need corrected.

They'd be wise to use this as a wake-up call.

Here are five observations:

Defensive woes - The Cavs spent shootaround putting together a game plan to slow down Davis, only to find out shortly before tip the All-Star starter wasn't going to play.

That meant some late adjustments, added challenges.

But there's no excuse for allowing the offensively-challenged Pelicans, who entered the night ranked 21st in offense, to score 70 points in the first half on 26-of-43 (60.4 percent) from the field. Nor is there a way to justify the Pelicans tallying a season-high 124.

It all started with a lack of focus and poor effort. The Cavs weren't physical enough and had numerous breakdowns.

Terrence Jones, filling in for Davis, helped New Orleans get off to a strong start, hitting all eight of his shot attempts in the first half. Sure, he had a few surprising makes, but that's what happens when a role player finds an early rhythm and builds confidence. Shots start falling -- even if they appear to be out of a player's usual comfort zone.

Jones finished with a season-high 36 on 13-of-18 (72.2 percent) from the field, including an iso attack against James with 1:39 remaining to give the Pelicans some much-needed breathing room.

It wasn't only Jones. The Pelicans scored at least 30 points in three of the four quarters.

The Cavs have now surrendered at least 100 points in 10 of the last 11 games. During the shaky stretch, they are allowing opponents to shoot 47.2 percent, which is tied for eighth worst.

Asking too much - Cleveland's Big Three scored 97 of the 122 points. Thirty-three of the 43 made shots. Had all but two of the 24 assists. Iman Shumpert had a pair.

That, once again, shows the trio's potential. It also shows how much responsibility James, Irving and Love all have. Too much.

I wrote a column in December, shortly after J.R. Smith's thumb injury, about Lue needing to resist the temptation of putting the entire offense in their hands.

And yet, that's exactly what's happening.

Irving played one of the most dazzling halves possible. He scored 35 points on 10-of-18 from the field, 5-of-9 from beyond the arc and 10-of-10 from the free throw line in the second half.

But after expending an abundance of energy during his 19-point third quarter, just to keep the Cavs within reach, the team's poor play to begin the fourth caused Lue to toss him right back in the game after a brief two-minute rest period.

It's somewhat understandable. Irving was the best player on this particular night. So Lue chased the win. He couldn't resist.

Those are the moments he needs to stay more disciplined, as Irving usually comes back in around the seven-minute mark.

Going to him three minutes earlier led to Irving's minute total going over 41. Against the Pelicans. Without Davis. In January. Two nights after logging 41 in a hard-fought overtime loss against San Antonio.

James, meanwhile, topped the 40-minute mark as well, playing 44 overall, including the final 12. He leads the NBA in minutes per game.

Love played 38 minutes, the most in 2017. The versatile power forward is still less than 100 percent and clearly frustrated with the way things have gone for him in the New Year.

First, he dealt with food poisoning because of bad sea bass. Then the back spasms, which have caused him to sleep on his side. He told me the other night in the locker room that he usually likes to sleep on his back -- that should give some indication of how he's feeling.

There's plenty of time for the minutes to come down. But resisting the urge to call on the Big Three at any sign of trouble needs to become a priority.

Bench -- It was James' fourth game this month playing 40 minutes or more. It's now happened 11 times this season after reaching that mark 13 times during the 2015-16 campaign, allowing him to be fresh for the postseason.

For Irving, it's the seventh time in 37 games hitting the 40-minute mark. It happened only four times in 53 regular season games last year.

How many more instances will there be of someone in the organization pointing out that the Cavs only have two playmakers? It happens almost on a nightly basis both in front of cameras and privately.

The enigmatic bench isn't quelling that chatter.

In an out-of-nowhere move, Lue essentially played seven guys Monday. The other two pieces of the usual rotation, DeAndre Liggins and Channing Frye, logged 13 total minutes between them.

Seven players tallied at least 20 minutes. The four non-starters scored 13 points on 5-of-14 from the field. None recorded an assist.

Meanwhile, New Orleans' second unit scored 40 points on 13-of-33 from the floor to go with eight assists.

Kyle Korver was supposed to help bring some stability. It hasn't happened yet.

Love's long-range woes - Perhaps it's because of his achy back. Maybe he just needs the All-Star break. Or he's being put in spots where he's not as comfortable.

But the facts are unavoidable.

After being on pace for a career year from beyond the arc, Love has started to fade.

In the nine games since the calendar flipped to 2017, Love is 17-of-58 (29.3 percent) from long range. He went 1-of-5 on Monday, with his only made triple coming in the final seconds as the game had already been decided.

A positive - Beyond James' box score and Irving's 49-point night, Shumpert was a bright spot.

He scored 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting, including 2-of-6 from 3-point range. It's his fifth straight double-digit scoring game, a stretch that coincides with him being put in the starting lineup.

It's unlocked his offense following a sluggish January start. It's also damaged the bench unit, which usually starts second and fourth quarters.

I wrote about the struggles against San Antonio, as the five-man group was outscored, 29-3.

On Monday, it was 12-7 in favor of New Orleans to begin the second period. Lue didn't even use Frye to start the fourth like usual, seeing the fivesome's ineffectiveness.

Without Shumpert, the bench bunch has lost a secondary ball handler. It's only James, which allows the defense to switch everything without concern of getting attacked in isolation off the bounce. It might be time for another change.