If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is around, did the tree make a sound? The NBA version of this metaphor is, if an NBA player makes the Eastern Conference Finals but doesn’t win a game, did he even make the Eastern Conference Finals?
Well, that is currently the life of Donovan Mitchell. Throughout his tenure in Cleveland, he’s been let down by his teammates at every turn; however, in their deepest playoff run yet, he has struggled under the bright lights.
Every flaw in Mitchell’s game has been dissected this playoffs. He’s looked very undersized, he’s constantly picked on with his defense, he’s been a very poor distributor and initiator on offense, and worst of all, he looks like he lost a bit of his elite athleticism.
It’s more than just the eye test; his stats have plummeted as well. This postseason, he’s averaging 25.7 points, 3.2 assists, and 4.9 rebounds per game on 44.9/31.3/81.7 shooting splits. Outside of his rebounds, his playoff stats are well below his regular-season shooting splits, and I think the rebounds are only up due to his additional minutes on the court.
I’m not sure whether it’s his age or an undisclosed injury, but I think a lot of his struggles stem from a decline in his athleticism. Each Eastern Conference opponent has thrown a big athletic wing on him, and he hasn’t been able to punish any team for that move. Mitchell currently has career-low assist numbers in the playoffs, with turnover concerns causing issues as well.
Cleveland will have some difficult decisions to make this offseason. The Cavs are planning to offer Donovan a 4-year, $272 million extension this summer, or they can wait until next year and offer him a supermax contract, which is 5 years and $350 million. You obviously can’t let Mitchell walk for free, but him signing this contract also feels like a death blow to your franchise’s contending window.
With rumors swirling about LeBron James returning home for one more run, Cleveland might be reluctant to blow up this core, but they don’t feel like a team that’s one piece away from contending. Rebuilding seasons for an NBA team are some of the hardest to watch, but unless Cleveland can somehow make a run for Giannis Antetokounmpo, it’s starting to look like an inevitability for the Cavs.
