Injuries, injuries, injuries — that is what anybody looking to excuse the brutal stretch from the Cleveland Cavaliers will turn to. Does it have some validity? Sure. Is it the only thing holding the team back? Not if you ask the team's leading star.
The Cavaliers have lost four of their last five games. The only win they could muster up was against the dreadful Indiana Pacers. That has not impressed Donovan Mitchell in the slightest, who was once again ready to share some painful self-reflection for himself and the team around him.
Mitchell said, "On all accounts, we just have to be better. ... It's a different year, so it's going to be harder. It's going to be more taxing. We have some guys out. It's going to be mentally taxing, physically taxing. We just have to be ready for that on a consistent basis."
The Cavaliers star said it should not matter who is playing. Everyone needs to be ready. Mitchell did not want to use the word concern in his assessment of the situation. However, there was an admittance of being upset, and wanting to see growth happen for the team.
It's only December but Cavaliers are already facing a brutal reality check
There is good news to be had here. Mitchell touched on it himself, too. It is only December. The sky is not falling according to the Cavaliers guard, and the panic levels have not set in just yet.
Having these conversations in March is when it would truly be troublesome, according to the Cavaliers guard. Even January or February would start to raise levels of discomfort.
The leader of the Cavs locker room is right in the sense of having time to turn it around. Cleveland only has 23 games played to this point. That's a lot of regular season remaining.
The Pacers did not look like a great basketball team to start 2024-25, struggling to stay above .500 throughout the first couple of months. The pieces fell into place in January.
Indiana went 10-2 that month, posting a top-five offensive and defensive unit, and figuring out the identity they would need to eventually have for a run to the NBA Finals. That type of turnaround is not out of the question for Cleveland.
However, that swift change of gears requires some serious mental toughness. The Cavaliers have faced an onslaught of criticism in that department. It will be the first thing that needs to change for Cleveland to find their focus.