Prior to playing against the Boston Celtics last night, the Cleveland Cavaliers snapped a three-game losing streak with a win over the Portland Trail Blazers, and it looked like things were on the mend for the franchise.

However, that all changed on Wednesday night, as the Celtics destroyed the Cavaliers on the court, defeating them 102-88 at the TD Garden, which means their grip on the third seed in the Eastern Conference is now looser than what it was before with still more than half of the season left to go.

The 2017-18 season has been completely different for Cleveland than what it has been in recent years, as while they're still near the top of the conference, they're not in a position as dominating as they have been in the past. This essentially could put their appearance in a fourth consecutive NBA Finals at risk.

If the Cavaliers were to miss out on the Finals after having a tougher playoff schedule due to their lower finish in the Eastern Conference, it could spark the end of the second LeBron James era in Cleveland, as recent reports have stated LeBron refused to commit to the Cavs beyond this season over the summer.

The report by Jackie MacMullan of ESPN states that Cavs owner Dan Gilbert asked the four-time MVP when they were thinking of dealing Kyrie Irving if he would commit himself to the team beyond 2017-18. 

The ESPN report says: "When Gilbert, who declined to be interviewed for this story, was presented with the Celtics as a trade partner for Irving, he went to LeBron and tried to secure a pledge from his franchise player to remain beyond the 2017-18 season. James, team and league sources confirm, wouldn't commit."

From this, we can infer that LeBron likely wants to see how the season plays out before making any commitments about his future. While he has been incredibly secretive about the topic, many rumors have stated he could be looking to move to Los Angeles to play for the Lakers.

Against the Celtics last night, James was the best player on the night for the Cavaliers, scoring 19 points with seven rebounds and six assists, but this wasn't enough to help his team win. Games like this could decide his fate in Cleveland, as history has told us he's always going to put himself in the best position to win a championship.

Cleveland might not be that place anymore after this season.