Donovan Mitchell’s health is too important to risk for an almost meaningless April game.
The Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t come out with the effort level they needed to get the victory. Throw in poor shot making and incredible showings from Zach Lavine, 37 points, and DeMar DeRozan, 28 points, and it’s not hard to see why the Sacramento Kings won 120-113.
Donovan Mitchell is the most important member of the team
It’s easy to talk yourself into Evan Mobley or Darius Garland being the most important players for the Cavs in the playoffs. While they will certainly be integral to the team’s success, Cleveland will only go as far as Mitchell takes them.
That’s been the case for the last two seasons. It isn’t magically changing this spring.
Sunday’s loss was a good example of this. The Cavs folded when Mitchell left the game with an ankle injury. The Kings outscored the Cavs 35-17 in the final 10 minutes of the third quarter. Things immediately turned around in the fourth when he returned.
Mitchell’s scoring his undeniable. He’s one of the best pure bucket-getters in the league and that obviously helps. But his energy is the real value he brings. That’s what seems to disappear when he’s not there.
This is what makes the decision to play Mitchell for the final 15 minutes after the injury so confusing. This game doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. The playoffs are all that matter. And Cleveland’s success is undeniably tied to Mitchell’s performance.
What’s the point of rushing him back out there?
It’s clear Mitchell wanted to secure the one seed. That’s fine. It’s also clear that head coach Kenny Atkinson trusted his player to make that decision, which, on the surface, is also fine. But this is a situation where Atkinson should’ve kept the big picture in mind and overruled him. How Mitchell was limping around the locker room afterward on a swollen ankle only confirms that.
The Cavs can only hope that Mitchell’s injury scare isn’t anything more than that. If not, the decision to play him the final 15 minutes of what is mostly a meaningless game will look even worse than it does now.
Darius Garland was missing in action
Garland hasn’t been actively bad recently. He’s mostly been protecting the ball and is still setting up his teammates as he always has. The problem is that you aren’t feeling his presence on the court. Sunday was another example of that.
The Cavs needed someone to step up in the third quarter when the game was slipping away. He only attempted one shot and was a non-factor in that time frame. Garland is too good of a player to be completely missing given the situation.
Garland isn’t at his worst when he’s missing shots. It’s fine when he does that. The pressure he applies to the defense is still valuable. It’s when you forget that he’s even out there that’s the issue.
The effort level just isn’t there
Atkinson blamed the defense and the overall energy for the loss. Both of these were glaring issues. However, this has been the case for the better part of the past month.
Right now, the Cavs aren’t close to being the dominant team they were during their three longest winning streaks. Not by a long shot. The attention to detail and focus just aren’t there.
Is this something to worry about with the playoffs two weeks away?
“We all believe in ourselves and what we can do,” Mitchell said postgame. “I don’t think this is something that we’re sitting here with our heads down, figuring things out. I think the term ‘peaking at the right time’ is, everybody throws that around, but the biggest thing is are you healthy? Are you mentally healthy? Are you ready to go when the time comes? That’s the biggest thing.”
Whether or not the Cavs are fully healthy is up for debate after how Mitchell looked in the locker room postgame, but his overall point stands. The Cavs have little to play for from a standings perspective. They have nothing left to prove in the regular season. They know that the playoffs are all that matters.
We’re seeing a similar thing happen with the Oklahoma City Thunder. They have lost two consecutive games to teams they’re better than after winning 11 straight before that.
That doesn’t necessarily excuse what we’re seeing from the Cavs. They aren’t playing good basketball. But it also might not mean much in two weeks when the games actually do matter.
For what it’s worth, this team isn’t too concerned about the recent inconsistent effort.
“We’re ready,” Ty Jerome confidentially said when asked about the playoffs. “We’re definitely ready.”