CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t play a perfect game, but it was enough to get past an old and tired Los Angeles Clippers’ team 120-105.
Donovan Mitchell is playing at another level. The Clippers
are one of the worst defensive teams in the league. They came into Sunday’s game 27th in defensive rating. And Mitchell made them look every bit as bad as the numbers suggest.
Mitchell’s ability to consistently beat his man off the dribble was impressive and opened up the rest of his game. When he attacked the basket and the defense collapsed, he pulled up from the midrange or found the open man. And when the defense sagged too far into the paint, he hit the three-ball over them.
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It was simply a scoring master class as he put up 37 points on 14-22 shooting.
“Is there any guard playing as well as him in the league?” head coach Kenny Atkinson asked postgame. You could make an argument that there isn’t, although it’s difficult to say he’s been better than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The case for Mitchell being better is his efficient scoring.
Mitchell’s 30.8 points per game are the fifth-highest in the league behind only Luka Doncic, Tyrese Maxey, Gilgeous-Alexander, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Mitchell has the highest effective field-goal percentage of the three guards in front of him with his .515/.393/.829 shooting splits.
“Scoring-wise, I feel like I’m at my best right now,” Mitchell said after the win.
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Interestingly enough, Mitchell is doing this without getting to the paint as forcefully as he has in the past. This is by design. He’s talked about playing more “efficiently” often this season, but he isn’t referring to taking traditional high-efficiency shots like attempts at the rim or threes. No, he means being efficient in how he’s moving on the court and using his body.
The goal is for him to be more ready for the playoffs, and in particular, the style of play that the Indiana Pacers used to best Cleveland in five games last postseason.
“I think last year, having to play at that pace in the playoffs was different,” Mitchell said. “But now you’re seeing that every night, right? So that kind of prepared me to come out here and say, okay, even though they are pressing you, it’s not always downhill to attack. It’s downhill to create. … That’s what last year’s playoffs taught me, if you have to continue to drive full court every single possession, you’re going to tire out. You won’t be efficient. And I don’t just mean scoring, I mean overall as a basketball player.”
The burden Mithell carried in the second round last season had a cumulative effect. He was great through the first three games against the Pacers, but quickly wore down afterward. And it’s not difficult to see why.
Mitchell drove the ball 16.8 times per game and took 36.8% of his shots within five feet of the rim in the second round against the Pacers. For comparison, he’s taking 12.6 drives per game this season, and 21.6% of his shots are within five feet. This approach has led to him taking the fewest percentage of shots at the rim in his career.
Getting to and finishing at the rim remains the most efficient way to score. However, that’s not what’s led to his most efficient scoring season as a pro. And while he’s shooting the three-ball well, he isn’t registering his best three-point percentage. Instead, its career bests in the short (58%, 95th percentile) and long midrange (62%, 98th percentile) that have led to this efficient scoring.
Mitchell’s scoring method hasn’t led to team success after the first round of the playoffs. It’s easier to stop a 6’2” guard from getting to the rim than it is a 6’8” forward. The guards that lead championship teams — like Steph Curry and Gilgeous-Alexander — have well-rounded scoring games that aren’t built solely on getting to the basket.
Whether or not Mitchell can carry this new playing style over to the playoffs is yet to be seen. Playing like this against the Clippers and carrying it over to the postseason are entirely different things. Still, it is incredibly encouraging to see him dominate a game, like he did on Sunday, by efficiently attacking in the midrange and getting to the free-throw line on something other than straight drives to the basket.
We’ve seen the best version of Mitchell so far this season.
“He’s in the money spot in his career,” Atkinson said. “He just kind of got control of everything.”
Chris Paul received a warm ovation when he checked into his final game in Cleveland. Paul announced on Saturday that this will be the last season in his storied career. The fans showed him the respect he deserved for being one of the best point guards in the history of the game.
“He’s a savant, a basketball savant,” Atkinson said. “It was cool to see the Cavs fans — this is a basketball city — give him a heck of an ovation. It’s great to see.”
The four-man grouping of Darius Garland, Mitchell, De’Andre Hunter, and Evan Mobley continues to impress. This was the quartet’s fourth game together. It’s a small sample size, but the group now has a 32.7 net rating in 59 minutes.
Actions always speak louder than words in the NBA. Even though Jarrett Allen wasn’t available on Sunday, his limited fourth-quarter minutes suggest that he isn’t going to be included in the ideal closing lineup every night. The four-man grouping above seems to be what Atkinson will be rolling. Whether or not that fifth person is Lonzo Ball, Allen, or Dean Wade will likely be matchup dependent.
Mobley’s weird season continued Sunday. This wasn’t a bad game by any stretch. He started out slow, but scored 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter. On the night, he shot an efficient 9-12 from the floor while providing 10 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks.
It’s a testament to Mobley that he can have that impressive of a stat line and have it feel like an unimpressive night. He’s doing a better job of playing to his strengths, but it feels like he’s swung too far in the other direction from where he was at the start of the year, where he was trying to aggressively break out of the mold he’s been in at the start of the year.
At this point in the season, I’m not sure what the Cavs believe the best version of Mobley is.
Tyrese Proctor stepped up well with Ball and Craig Porter Jr. out of the lineup. He looked like he belonged on the court on Sunday, which is maybe the highest praise you can give a rookie taken in the second round.
“I think we got a first-round pick in the second round,” Atkinson said. “I don’t want to put too much pressure on him. … There’s been no discussion about him playing with the Charge or in the G League. That’s when you know you got a player. We just thought about him as an NBA rotation player the moment he stepped in our facility.”
Proctor provided 11 points and three assists in the win.
Nae’Qwan Tomlin has also looked like a rotation player. He once again provided the energy this group needed off the bench while being impactful on both ends.
“You’re seeing something every night,” Mitchell said. “You’re seeing the heart, the hustle, the mindset. Tonight, he’s aggressive, getting downhill.”
This isn’t just one good outing. We’re seeing Tomlin string showings like this every time he’s on the court. Now, he just needs to figure out how to get the three-ball to fall more consistently.
The Cavs have put together an impressive record despite not having an ideal start to the season. The win puts them at 12-6 in the third spot of the conference. That’s not bad considering how rough a start to the year considering how many injury concerns they’ve had to navigate.
“We have a lot we’re learning about ourselves, but you know, we have a ways to go,” Atkinson said. “I’ll take 12-6 with the health situation we’ve had. But you know, I think a lot of it is offense, really, quite honestly, where we’ve got to still figure some things out. We can’t have Donovan be our savior all the time, but as we get guys back, we’ll get better.”
