Donovan Mitchell has been on playoff teams for six straight years and never made it past the second round — a fact that follows him like his own shadow.
Mitchell is getting another chance to be a postseason hero this spring. He and the Cavaliers finished fourth in the Eastern Conference to earn home-court advantage in a best-of-seven series with the Orlando Magic beginning at 1 p.m. April 20 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
“I think it just comes with the territory,” Mitchell said April 17 after practice at Cleveland Clinic Courts in Independence. “It comes with being traded here (in September of 2022). It’s something that’s expected of me.
“At the end of the day, I set my own personal goals. This is one of them. It just so happens that it’s everybody else’s expectations, too. I put that on me. I’m not worried. I’ve prepped for these moments. My teammates believe in me. I believe in myself. I can sit here and say this, but I have to go out and do it.”
Much was expected from Mitchell a year ago in his first season with the Cavaliers. The Cavs were eliminated by the Knicks in five games instead.
Most of the blame for the quick exit was directed toward the Cavs not being physical enough, but fingers were pointed at Mitchell, too, and he was one of the ones doing the pointing. He was 5 of 18 from the field — 0 of 4 on 3s — in a 102-93 loss in Game 4 in Madison Square Garden. He was 11 of 26 from the field — 3 of 12 on 3s — in Game 5 when the Cavs were eliminated, 106-95.
“Last year was last year, but it’s still motivation to be better this time,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell missed 27 games with a variety of injuries in 2023-24. He started and scored 29 points April 12 when the Cavs beat the Pacers, 129-120, to clinch a top four seed in the East.
Coach J.B. Bickerstaff is so conscious of how Mitchell’s left knee can flare up that he gave his star April 14 off when the Cavs were hosting the Charlotte Hornets in the final regular season game. Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Caris LeVert got the day off, too.
So now Mitchell is as rested as he can be, eager for an outcome different from the four times he was in the playoffs with Utah and eager to help advance the Cavs past the first round. The Jazz made the Western Conference semifinals in 2018 and 2021 when Mitchell was there before getting stopped by the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers respectively.
The foray into the playoffs last year was the first for the Cavaliers since they played the Warriors for the NBA championship in 2018. Their inexperience was exposed, as well as their lack of toughness and Mitchell’s ineffective shooting. To that end, the Cavs acquired Max Strus in a trade with the Miami Heat and signed Georges Niang last summer. Less than a month before the start of training camp, they signed veteran center Tristan Thompson, who was part of the Cavs 2016 championship team.
“We have a stronger veteran presence for sure,” Mitchell said. “This is no excuse for last year, but when you have guys who are out there for the first time it’s obviously different for them.
“When you have a guy like Max, Georges, T.T., Marcus Morris — that’s huge. Just what they say on the bench, let alone when they play. Just what they say in the locker room, what they say on a day-to-day basis, I think that’s where the impact comes in.”
Many players in the NBA, and Garland is one of them, were not in college long enough to play in high-pressure games on that stage. Garland played in only five games at Vanderbilt before a knee injury suffered in November of 2018 ended his freshman season.
Garland chose to leave Vanderbilt in January of 2019 to prepare for the NBA draft. The Cavaliers chose him fifth overall. Garland averaged 21.6 points a game heading into the 2023 playoffs. He was inconsistent against the Knicks, scoring 17, 32, 10, 23 and 21 points.
“We’re a lot hungrier,” Garland said. “We have a lot more experience and a lot more to show.”
Can Mitchell and Garland both be at their best against the Magic and beyond if the Cavaliers oust Orlando? That question, of course, won’t be answered until the Cavs-Magic series ends.
Garland missed 14 games from Dec. 16 to Jan. 29 with a fractured jaw. The Cavs went 10-4 in that stretch. Mitchell missed four straight games while Garland was out. The Cavs were 3-1 without both starting guards. They were 7-3 when Mitchell played and Garland did not.
Mitchell missed 13 of 15 games between March 1 and March 27. The Cavs were 5-8 in the games he missed. Garland played in all 13.
Garland and Mitchell both played April 12 against the Pacers. The Cavs won, 129-120, to clinch a top four seed in the East. Mitchell scored a game-high 29 points, but it was Garland’s clutch three-pointer with 50 seconds to play that put the Cavs up, 123-118.
Garland finished the game with the Pacers hitting 4 of 5 shots from beyond the arc. That is the kind of performance Coach J.B. Bickerstaff wants to see from Garland in the playoffs. The message from the head coach is Mitchell doesn’t have defeat the Magic by himself.
“That’s what we’re talking about,” Bickerstaff said. “It’s not always going to be just one guy. We’re confident in the group of guys that we put out there that each one in their strength can make a play to help us win.
“I want Darius to continue to play with belief, show his leadership, play with confidence. We want Darius to shoot every single shot. He has courage and grit. He’s able to rise to the moment.”
