DETROIT — Conversations in the offseason or in training camp produce the best — if not most delusional — versions of players.
The road to disappointment is often paved with good intentions, so it wasn’t a guarantee Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell was going to stay true to taking his foot off the pedal in order for the overall team to grow.
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“Everybody says they’re willing to sacrifice until it’s them,” Mitchell told Yahoo Sports recently. “Are you really, truly ready?”
Mitchell has backed up his words, and the Cavaliers have benefited. He’s taking the fewest shots since his rookie year, and his minutes are at a career low, but that’s by design more than some fall-off — per 36 minutes, his points and assists aren’t far off his career highs.
He has to toe the line between being an offensive dynamo and allowing teammates Darius Garland and Evan Mobley the space to flourish, while still actually … leading. He had to learn how to be a better leader and how to engage better. It seems to be the next step in his evolution.
“You gotta be methodical, you gotta be tactical,” Mitchell said. “Some nights, it may be under 20 shots, how are we efficient? Am I getting guys open? And how am I being the leader that’s needed while also being aggressive. It’s a line you can find, for sure.
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“It’s not easy. If it was easy, everybody would do it.”
(Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports illustration)
The result? The Cleveland Cavaliers (60-15) totaling their most wins in 15 years, with a wire-to-wire lead in the Eastern Conference and their only true adversity coming in the last couple of weeks — almost predictably, in the aftermath of a 16-game winning streak.
After a four-game losing streak, they’ve rebounded to win four of five, hitting that 60-win mark with seven games remaining. Mitchell says the Cavs are “learning,” which he doesn’t mind.
“What we want to do late game, playing through physicality, what we struggle with,” Mitchell said. “How teams are going to guard is. That’s what the second half of the season is.”
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This is certainly Garland’s and Mobley’s first time in this spot, but it isn’t Mitchell’s. The Utah Jazz went 52-20 in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, losing in a second-round shocker to the Los Angeles Clippers — who lost Kawhi Leonard midway through the series with a torn ACL.
“You’re at the top, you’re clawing for that one seed. Everybody’s chasing you, but you’re getting it from everybody,” Michell said. “You’re fighting that. You’re getting a desperate team every night now. Not that we’re not desperate every night.
“We’re figuring these things out, we haven’t had adversity all year. We’re having a lot of conversations. This is good, this is good, man. I’d rather this happen now.”
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On March 28, Mitchell and the Cavaliers were in Detroit, on the end of a back-to-back against a team that had lost 12 straight to them. Mitchell was watching his team on the verge of being run out of the gym, so he put on his cape — scoring 24 of his 38 in the second half as the Cavaliers pulled to within two before the Pistons regrouped to win.
It was Mitchell’s second-highest scoring output of the season — his first being a 41-point masterpiece in Boston in late February as the Cavaliers stormed back from a 20-point deficit to stun the defending champions.
Yet, some questions remain. Or rather, one big, green question. Those Celtics are rolling, having won nine in a row, including six straight on the road. They’re the defending champions rounding into shape, with a chance to win 60 games as well.
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The chances of Boston catching Cleveland for the top seed are slim, which would determine playoff paths and the all-important seventh game if the two were to meet in the Eastern Conference finals.
There’s very little getting in the way of this collision occurring, as the gap widens between the top two and everyone else. In a series, Mitchell could very well be the difference. He may have to abandon the team-first approach and be the superstar who rises above everyone else in order for Cleveland to advance to the NBA Finals.
“Obviously, minutes go up, but I’m not gonna come in and dominate the ball. I’m still going to play the right way, play the right way schematically, but also being able to be more aggressive,” Mitchell said. “Using this time, these games and the break to get my mind ready for that, while also instilling confidence in everybody. Nothing new, nothing different.”
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But it is different. Sacrificing the possibility of more MVP votes, of having his name higher in those conversations — he finished sixth in ’22-23, his first season in Cleveland. Being the best player, the biggest name on a team that could win 65 games usually garners more conversation.
Of course, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokić dominate all discussion and rightfully so, even boxing out Giannis Antetokounmpo’s stellar season. But it’s that Mitchell resisted the temptation to go for it.
“I’m not shocked. Because my numbers, my usage, is not as high,” Mitchell said. “I came into the season understanding if we took this approach, that would be the sacrifice. Do I feel like I’m (part of that conversation)? Hell, yeah. But understanding I don’t have the ball in my hands every single possession. And look where we are because of that. That, to me, is going to translate to winning.
“How can we push DG (Garland) now that we have (De’Andre Hunter) here, adding him, Ty Jerome, everyone?”
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Garland has thrived in coach Kenny Atkinson’s 3-point heavy offense, utilizing his quickness and renewed sense of freedom to have a rejuvenated year, shooting 40% from 3-point range and averaging 21 points and nearly seven assists.
The Cavaliers take the second-most 3s per game and hit over 38%, leading the league in offensive rating while still being a top-10 defensive team.
That doesn’t happen if Mitchell is going full bull in a china shop, commandeering the show. Mitchell and Garland joke easily in the locker room, keeping things light even after losses. They said the pairing would work, despite their similar sizes, and it has so far.
Mobley clearly has the highest ceiling of anyone, a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year. He’s not boisterous but doesn’t lack confidence or self-awareness. All the metrics say he’s firmly in the DPOY conversation, if not leading it in the wake of Victor Wembanyama’s absence post-All Star break.
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Mobley’s third in contested shots per game and first in field-goal percentage allowed on shots within five feet, along with being the only player in the NBA averaging at least 1.5 blocks on fewer than two fouls per gane, leading to him being Defensive Player of the Month twice.
It’s rare players come into the league with this type of impact on winning, let alone leading the way defensively. He has a bit of a playoff wart, being beaten up by the bruisers in New York (Mitchell Robinson and Julius Randle) a couple years ago.
But the resume is building positively.
“So I was trying to think who in history — I guess Bill Russell, I don’t know, like (Tim) Duncan, KG (Kevin Garnett),” Atkinson said Friday before the loss to Detroit as a he pondered youthful defensive impact. “You’d have to look at defensive win shares, the advanced analytics. But he’s phenomenal. He’s a low-mistake guy. He’s got great timing, great patience.”
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Mitchell knows this team is built to compete, even if the guards are small and the bigs aren’t wide bodies.
Mitchell knows his body has to be built to withstand the playoff rigors. He dealt with a left knee injury after last year’s All-Star break and a strained left calf cost him the last two games of last year’s second-round loss to the Celtics.
Maintaining health has been the undercurrent for everything this season with the Cavaliers. Without Mitchell being optimal, they don’t have a chance.
“Best I’ve felt in my career, for real,” Mitchell told Yahoo Sports. “I’m dunking with two hands. Especially coming off last year with the knee injury. People were like, he lost (a step) because I was choosing not to dunk, to kind of rest myself. After the break (this year), I was like, ‘It’s time.’ I feel fresh enough when I do come down the lane I’m willing to go up there.”
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If he goes up enough, and does it consistently over the next three months, he won’t need the individual accolades — he’ll have the thing that matters most.
“I think that’s how you associate the MVP, with high numbers, high usage. And that’s not always going to be me every night, and I’m OK with that,” Mitchell said. “Maybe because at the end of the day, if we go out there and win a championship, I’m not going to sit and say, ‘Damn, I didn’t win the MVP.’”
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