The Cleveland Cavaliers cannot win a championship if Donovan Mitchell is on the team.
That seems like an overreaction, some might say. That is too harsh. Fingers should be pointed at James Harden, or Evan Mobley, or Jarrett Allen, or Kenny Atkinson. Perhaps they should.
But four years into the Donovan Mitchell experience, and nine years inot his career, the evidence is deafening. Mitchell is an extremely talented player, a perennial All-NBA player who can score in bunches.
In the end, however, Mitchell just does not have what it takes to be the best player on a championship team, and his particular mix of strengths and weaknesses makes it extremely unlikely a team could build the right roster for him to win as the second or third-best player.
It's just not happening.
Donovan Mitchell is not good enough
Game 6 against the Toronto Raptors was more of the same. Toronto was down its second and third-best players in Brandon Ingram and Immanuel Quickley, and Scottie Barnes was banged up but playing. Cleveland should have slammed the door shut.
Instead, they failed to take control, had to battle back just to force overtime, and were taken down by an all-time shot by RJ Barrett. The Raptors forced a Game 7, and Mitchell had no interest in preventing it.
The star guard jacked up 26 shots and scored only 24 points, not drawing a single free-throw. Again and again, he threw up ill-advised jumpers and hoped they would go in despite the defensive pressure he faced. He had more turnovers than assists yet again. It was a dismal showing.
Few players in NBA history are capable of the scoring explosions that Mitchell puts up. Few players in NBA history also fade as quickly once the playoffs begin. He's good for a couple of big games early, and then he starts to look labored and lost.
It happened last year, when the Cavaliers went from annihilating the Miami Heat in the first round to being punked by the Indiana Pacers in the second. It happened the year before as the Boston Celtics steamrolled them. And the year before that, and back in his Utah days as well.
Mitchell cannot sustain excellence against the physicality of playoff defenses through the slog of long playoff series. And his team needs him to. He is the straw that stirs the drink for the Cavaliers, and he has turned out to be made of paper, getting soggier and soggier with each passing game.
Building a trye contender around Mitchell is impossible
Because Mitchell is just 6'2" and not an impact defender, he cannot be paired with another small, non-defensive guard. The Cavaliers tried that and it failed with Darius Garland. They turned instead to a bigger, non-defensive guard in James Harden. That hasn't been some magical solution.
What Mitchell would theoretically need to do is take on point guard duties full-time, allowing the Cavaliers to deploy wings beside him. That works in the regular season just fine, but in the playoffs, it is revealed that Mitchell does not have the handle or playmaking skills to be a point guard.
Too small to be a shooting guard, not skilled enough to be a point guard, not consistent enough to be the No. 1 option. He is absolutely a good player, a deserving All-NBA selection once again. But he is not truly great, and he will hold the Cavaliers back from being a contender.
Mitchell has crushed Cleveland's hopes and dreams
Winning 64 games last year opened up a new set of hopes and dreams, ones where Clevweland hoists its second championship trophy. Those were dimmed after last year's early exit.
Now they have been snuffed out. Even if the Cavaliers survive in Game 7 and make it to the second round, they are clearly not good enough to compete for the NBA Finals. Donovan Mitchell is not good enough.
That will have serious implications for the future. For now, it's just a bitter disappointment for a fan base that is all too familiar with them.
Donovan Mitchell is not leading them to a championship. Not now. Not ever.
Add us as a preferred source on Google