1 stud and 1 dud for Cavaliers from their win over Lakers on Tuesday

Cavaliers stud from Tuesday’s win: Donovan Mitchell

While Cleveland was known for their defense last season, finishing with the fifth-best defensive rating in the league (108.9), one aspect they were missing as a team a year ago was a true game-changer on the offensive side of the ball.

The acquisition of Donovan Mitchell over the offseason changed the Cavaliers outlook on the offensive side of the ball, and that was on full display against the Lakers.

Mitchell got off to a slow start, shooting just 1-of-5 in the first quarter, but that slow start didn’t deter him, as Mitchell shot 5-of-6 and scored 11 points.

Through three quarters, Mitchell struggled with his outside shot (2-of-6), but still managed to score 26 points, getting into the teeth of the defense multiple times and finishing at the rim or in the paint.

However, it was the 4th quarter where Mitchell shined last night. He shot 5-of-6 from the field, including knocking down a pair of three-pointers and going a perfect 5-of-5 from the foul line.

Mitchell nearly outscored the Lakers by himself in the final 12 minutes, scoring 17 points, while LA scored just 19 fourth quarter points.

As Mitchell stepped to the line to score his 42nd and 43rd points of the night, the sellout crowd began chanting, “MVP!” toward the Cavaliers star guard.

After the game, Mitchell called this moment “full circle,” via reporter Hayden Grove of Cleveland.com, as he essentially used to watch games where the Cleveland crowd would shower LeBron with “MVP” chants. Now, he’s the one on the receiving end of those chants.

However, the Cavaliers starters had to do most of the heavy lifting last night, leading us to our Cavs dud from Tuesday.