They think they can turn it on for the playoffs. Its hubris.
However, with each terrible loss (losses like Cleveland, NJ, but which have been happening since December) their self-confidence crumbles just a little bit. Its starting snowball, and the team is clinging to its last threads of hubris. They have a thin shell of over-confidence covering an interior filled with fear, uncertainty, and panic. They cannot WAIT for the playoffs to start, because they're afraid of unraveling anymore. They really, really hope they can turn it on, but with each loss that hope gets a little dimmer...they don't like it, it scares them, it bothers us as fans....they'll get to the playoffs and either play terrific basketball with the stress of a slowly deteriorating regular season lifted off them (not likely, you can't just turn it on) or they will continue to play just the way they have played since December. Horribly.