The Cleveland Cavaliers are one of just two teams with a top-ten offense and defense. They’ve failed to score at least 100 points just once in their last 35 games. They clawed their way out of basketball purgatory after LeBron James departed and are in line for at least one round of home-court advantage.
And yet, the Cavaliers are routinely left out of the NBA’s Finals favorites list.
A big reason for that seemingly glaring omission is Cleveland’s collective lack of playoff experience. Isaac Okoro, Darius Garland, and Evan Mobley have yet to taste late-April basketball. Jarrett Allen has appeared in two series, both losses (including eight straight Ls).
Even Donovan Mitchell, who played on some terrific regular-season Jazz teams before his summer trade to Cleveland, hasn’t ever made the Conference Finals. This Cavs team might be the most talented and well-balanced crew that he’s played with professionally, leading one rival scout to label this year’s playoffs as a major referendum on Mitchell’s abilities to carry a team.
“You get Donovan for the playoffs,” a rival Eastern Conference scout told ESPN’s Jamal Collier recently. “We’ll see if he’s that guy or not.”
The lack of experience isn’t a secret to the organization; the Cavaliers freely admit they lack the scars of deep playoff runs.
Donovan Mitchell Sounds Off on Cavs Narrative
Though the Cavaliers are ranked fourth in the East, they’re often not among the favorites to emerge from the crowded conference.
“Obviously, it’s no secret that we lack the experience,” Mitchell said, per Chris Fedor of cleveland.com. “When people talk, we’re not in their top three or whatever it is, and that’s fine, but the biggest thing for us is we believe we can not just make the playoffs but make a deep run.”
The “top three” that Mitchell is referencing are the ferocious trio of teams ahead of the Cavs in the Eastern Conference standings. At the top of the heap are the Milwaukee Bucks, led by recent champ Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Then there are the mighty Celtics, just one year removed from a Finals loss to the Warriors. And don’t count out the No. 3 seeded 76ers, who face an inordinate amount of pressure but are led by MVP front-runner Joel Embiid.
Nonetheless, Mitchell’s teammates feel like they’ve already made a dent in the league despite their young age and lack of expectations.
“[Outsiders] looked at us as a young team, and you don’t expect a lot from a young team,” Allen told ESPN’s Tim Bontemps last month. “You expect them to come in and try to figure themselves out. But I feel like we came in and made an impact on the league.”
Cavaliers Hoping to See Nets in Playoffs
One way the Cavs might prove the doubters wrong is by playing a team the front office has already zeroed in on: the Brooklyn Nets.
“No one inside the organization would say this publicly — and they shouldn’t. But multiple people I’ve spoken to recently are privately hoping for a Brooklyn matchup,” Fedor reported.
Fedor explained that Brooklyn’s trade-deadline implosion has seriously decreased the team’s legitimacy as a force in the East.
“Brooklyn was 32-20 at the time it dealt Kyrie Irving — a move that preceded Kevin Durant’s departure. While the Nets haven’t completely imploded since those two megadeals, their organizational ceiling has lowered considerably, and they no longer pose the same challenge in a seven-game series. The last time they looked — and consistently played — like a playoff-caliber team was when Irving and Durant were both there. The Nets are 7-11 over the last month-plus without those two superstars. They also have the most inexperienced coach of the potential first-round foes,” Fedor completed.
Add in the fact that the Cavs just handled the Nets last week, albeit on a game-winner and game-tilting dunk, and the front office might just be validated in its wishes.
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Donovan Mitchell Called Out by Cavaliers Rival as Crucial Playoff Test Looms