CLEVELAND — If the Cavaliers are really going to do this, if they have any shot at all of going on a deep playoff run beginning next week, this won’t be the night that triggered it. Sure, the Cavaliers clinched a playoff berth with their 129-120 win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday, but the most important lesson their most important player learned this season came during an otherwise forgettable game against a forgettable opponent shortly after the All-Star break.
Donovan Mitchell was dragging his leg up and down the floor for 36 minutes in a win at Washington in late February. He didn’t play well, didn’t shoot well and wasn’t moving well. He had already missed the first two games coming out of the All-Star break but was trying to hurry back onto the floor. That’s the night he realized he wasn’t helping anyone and he wasn’t making the team better by being out there.
Mitchell has always been determined to win every game he plays no matter what. Give the ball to Donovan and get out of the way. That’s how the Cavs have played for the majority of the important moments during his two seasons in Cleveland. It drove me crazy to watch.
I had a debate with Mitchell about it last season in early March.
“Would you ever punt a game just to send a message?” I asked him. “Teach a lesson that, ‘I’m not going to bail you out this time. You guys figure it out.’”
Mitchell said absolutely not. He has to win every game he plays, no matter what. The Cavs were in a fight to secure home-court advantage last year — a lot of good that did him — so every victory felt like another gold nugget.
The part Mitchell admits now that he didn’t really factor in was the rest of the roster’s lack of experience. Last season was the first time Darius Garland and Evan Mobley played with any sort of expectations hanging over them. Mitchell was the only real veteran with postseason experience. That became evident when the playoffs arrived and Jarrett Allen infamously admitted the lights were too bright.
So Mitchell has learned important lessons along the way, too. He concedes he doesn’t have to win every single game now, that sometimes learning a lesson is more important than a victory.
According to him, that dates back to the night at Washington when he realized he wasn’t helping the Cavs very much by being on the floor. That didn’t stop him from playing heavy minutes in the next two games as well before finally shutting it down.
I’ve been confused by this entire knee saga surrounding Mitchell. When was the injury? How did it occur? He looked fine during the first half of the season, he looked fine during All-Star weekend. Then he came back to Cleveland and suddenly had tendonitis. It didn’t make a lot of sense.
First the Cavs said they were giving him an extra couple of days of rest because of his All-Star weekend obligations. Then it was the knee. But how did he hurt it? When?
Mitchell told me he first felt it in the final game prior to the All-Star break in the home win against the Chicago Bulls. With two minutes left in the game, he went to the line to shoot two free throws.
“Go watch it,” Mitchell said. “You can see when I felt it.”
So I did. As he went into his routine deep knee bend on the first free throw, you can plainly see him grimace. He shrugged it off.
“I didn’t think it was that big of a deal,” he said. He thought it was just due to a long season and being tired. The break would help, he thought. Only it didn’t. He missed the first two games coming out of the All-Star break before suiting up against the Wizards.
Finally, Mitchell relented. He played 44 minutes and shot 5 of 13 in a loss at Chicago. He finally had to shut it down. He missed seven-straight games and 13 of the next 15. He sat back and watched and began asking questions of Darius Garland like, “What did you see? Why did you do that?” And that’s when he began embracing the idea that trying to win every single game with the ball in his hands maybe wasn’t the right approach.
“Growth,” Mitchell told me Friday. “I have to grow, too.”
That win against the Bulls prior to the All-Star break was noteworthy for one other reason: It’s the night Garland looked off Mitchell, who was calling for the ball, and hit a step-back 3-pointer to win the game.
Finally, learning to play left-handed. Learning to find other ways to win without solely relying on Mitchell.
To be clear, obviously the Cavs are going to need Mitchell in big moments in the postseason. He’s their best player. But playoff teams will build their entire defensive scheme around getting the ball out of his hands starting next week, so then what? How can the Cavs successfully play left-handed at that point? Garland will have to be a big part of it.
Garland has endured a miserable season. It’s hard to fully explain. He struggled again Friday with poor decision making at times, with costly turnovers at critical moments. But with the game in the balance and Mitchell again calling for the ball, Garland kept it himself. He had a mismatch on Pascal Siakam. Garland likes the switches and big defenders because he can usually take them off the dribble. But this time he stepped back and splashed a huge 3-pointer for a 123-118 lead.
Last year, maybe he passes off to Mitchell.
Give it to Donovan and get out of the way.
On the Cavs’ next possession, Garland again had the ball in his hands. Mitchell was on the wing, Max Strus was in the corner. Garland dribbled away from Mitchell toward the strong side of the floor. Strus popped out from the corner and Garland hit him on the wing. Strus missed the 3-pointer, but he was fouled. Certainly the Cavs needed Mitchell’s 33 points to beat the Pacers, but on the two biggest possessions in the game’s final minute, Mitchell never touched the ball. It’s actually a pretty important sign of growth.
This team was a mess just a few days ago. The West Coast trip was a disaster. The first half against Memphis on Wednesday, given who the Grizzlies were missing, was somehow even worse. I’m not going to declare everything fixed based on one night, but certainly a win in game No. 81 against a playoff contender like the Pacers without needing Mitchell in the game’s most important moments can go a long way in soothing what ailed them just a few days ago.
There’s so much at stake with this upcoming playoff run and Mitchell’s future is at the center of it. But he isn’t beyond learning important lessons, too. He learned a pretty valuable one just in time for the postseason.
(Photo: David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)
