If you’ve been online recently, you may have noticed that Donovan Mitchell has… pissed off a lot of Cleveland Cavaliers fans.
Twitter is ablaze with criticism. People want him traded. Some regret that he was ever traded for. Mitchell has become the crux of all problems; the shot-chucking ‘dictator’ who will never be the primary option on a championship team.
But everyone has it backwards; Donovan Mitchell needs to shoot more.
Mitchell’s field goal attempts and usage rate are at career lows to start
the year.
His assist percentage and shot chart are nearly identical to previous seasons.
That means Mitchell has less control over the offense than ever, despite some insisting that he’s grown into a ball-dominant tyrant.
How did we get here? And why are fans feeling such a disconnect?
Mitchell has always been a scorer more than a passer. He currently ranks in the 41st percentile in assist-to-usage ratio — a stat that tracks how often a player is ending their possessions with an assist rather than a shot attempt or turnover.
This means that roughly half of the league’s players are more likely to get an assist on any given possession than Donovan Mitchell. That can lead to games where it feels like Mitchell is hogging the ball while leaving his teammates hanging.
That gung-ho play style caused some frustration throughout last year’s playoffs, and the complaints have carried into this year.
Fans want to know why Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen aren’t getting the ball. Why do their leads disappear so often? And why haven’t the Cavs gotten over the hump despite a roaring regular season?
Some have identified Mitchell’s lack of playmaking as the problem.
Which, in fairness, is certainly a factor. Cleveland has lost big games in the past due to Mitchell’s shot selection. He doesn’t always make the right decision with the ball in his hands — and that can be difficult to watch as a fan.
But we should reframe this discussion. Let’s start here.
Donovan Mitchell isn’t a point guard. And maybe, he doesn’t have to be.
Shai-Gilgeous Alexander was in the 29th percentile for assist-to-usage ratio when the Oklahoma City Thunder won the championship. He’s in the 0th percentile now.
Some people score; others pass.
The truth is, championship-caliber players are allowed to have weak points. You are not disqualified if you can’t do everything on your own.
Giannis Antetokounmpo never learned how to shoot. Nikola Jokic never became an elite defender. And the New York Knicks didn’t win a championship last June because Jalen Brunson suddenly became an elite playmaker — they won because they delegated more playmaking responsibilities to Karl-Anthony Towns — leaving space for Brunson to do what Brunson does best… score the ball.
All of those teams identified their star’s weakness, and built a roster around them that could insulate them.
The Cavs need a similar solution. They need someone who can take playmaking off of Mitchell’s plate.
Darius Garland was the original fit. And, for a while, he would thread the needle beautifully. He sent the defense scattering into motion while Mitchell would catch the ball against a defense already on their back feet. That dynamic led to 64 wins — but unfortunately, Garland couldn’t stay healthy.
James Harden was the next option. He’s been more available than Garland, which was enough to help bolster the team to an Eastern Conference Finals run.
But Harden’s style differs from Garland’s. He’s slower-paced, favoring a heliocentric style that inhibits stationary spacing around him. The result is fewer chances for Mitchell to attack in motion, nerfing his greatest strength as a slasher who can attack gaps.
All of this has culminated in the Cavs (and fans online) asking Mitchell to be more of a playmaker. But that is a fundamental misunderstanding of who he is — and how you win in the NBA by playing to your strengths.
Let’s back up for a second.
I want to be clear that I am not advocating for Mitchell to go full Dion Waiters and ignore the other four Cavaliers sharing the court with him at any given time. He still needs to pass the ball — and he needs to choose the right moments to assert himself as a scorer.
You can’t win by playing like a bull in a China shop. There has to be a delicate balance between scoring in bunches and releasing control of the offense to someone else. That’s the key here.
Mitchell will never be a point guard. Any system that asks him to make reads at that level will learn the hard way. You can’t force a square peg into a round hole.
You can, however, build a competitive team that understands who Mitchell is.
We know for a fact that Mitchell can go nuclear as a scorer in the playoffs. We’ve seen it multiple times.
But who can grab the reins and facilitate those high-scoring performances? Who is the Karl-Anthony Towns to his Jalen Brunson in this scenario?
The Cavs are still hoping that will be Harden. Additional support from Mobley would be welcomed. Whether that will be enough is certainly worth questioning.
But here’s another cold, hard truth: Making it to the top of the mountain is hard. If we’re being honest, it’s damn near impossible. This franchise had the greatest player alive for 11 seasons and only made it to the finish line once.
Cleveland would need a myriad of miracles to win a championship with this group. Even if everything went right, they could still fall short. That’s just the way it goes.
That’s why sticking true to your identity is more important than anything. Being a bad version of someone else will always be inferior to being the best version of yourself.
I don’t think Mitchell will lead Cleveland to a title through his playmaking. That feels like jumping the shark.
The Cavs do need him to be better defensively and to make better reads offensively, but that doesn’t necessarily mean relinquishing his role as one of the highest-volume scorers in the league. That’s who he is — that’s who the team traded for.
Mitchell needs to be a world-class scorer. Nearly all of his attention on offense should be centered on getting his shot. Passing will always come second. Winning or losing comes down to Mitchell taking and making the big shots. That was the primary difference between him and Brunson last season.
Of course, any team would prefer a superstar who is capable of blending elite scoring with masterful playmaking and impactful defense. But, you work with what you have — and the Cavs have a dynamic scorer, not a floor general.
Accepting Mitchell’s true nature and having the supporting cast insulate him with their playmaking is the most realistic path forward. It’s the only path forward.
