Donovan Mitchell Needs More Help From Cavaliers Counterparts

The Cleveland Cavaliers need to find a way to take scoring pressure off Donovan Mitchell.

May 7, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) weaves between the defense during the second quarter of game one of the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports / Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Cavaliers learned the hard way that one player can’t lead you to a victory against the NBA’s best regular season team. 

That may have worked in the first round against the Orlando Magic, but the Boston Celtics are too good, have too much depth, and have too many scorers to have your second-leading scorer only put up 17.

Donovan Mitchell did just about everything for the Cavs in Game 1. He finished the game with 33 points while shooting 48% (12-for-25) from the floor and 36% (4-for-11) from behind the arc. 

He was asked after the game about Cleveland’s offensive struggles when he wasn’t on the floor. Mitchell made sure to stress that he believes in his team, but they all need to improve as a group which includes himself. 

“I trust my guys and we’ve got guys that can make plays,” said Mitchell. “It’s a different series. Different groups, different ways to score, different things we can learn and watch the film. How do we attack in those scenarios and we’ll be better.”

May 7, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) weaves between the defense during the second quarter of game one of the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports | Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports / Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

J.B. Bickerstaff also touched on the importance of Mitchell’s impact on the floor after the game. 

“We try to put him out there as long we can. He’s playing over 40 minutes a game,” said Bickerstaff. “So, we’re trying to keep him out there because we know how impactful he is, but we’re not going to run him into the ground so he’s got nothing left in the fourth quarter either.”

Darius Garland is a former All-Star. Max Strus was the starting small forward on a Finals team last season. Caris LeVert was in contention for sixth-man of the year at one point last season. It’s time for at least one of them to start being Mitchell’s second option.

There were some signs of hope in the game’s closing minutes. One of those was Evan Mobley played much more aggressively in the second half and scored 13 of his 17 points in the final 24 minutes. 

Whatever adjustment Bickerstaff makes for Game 2, finding more scoring opportunities for players outside of Mitchell needs to be high on the list.