Comparison is the thief of joy, right? That would certainly be the case for Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers when being stacked up with Joel Embiid in conversations that involve the NBA Playoffs.
Now, on one hand, the Philadelphia 76ers superstar can be used as a calming reminder that playoff breakthroughs are not for everyone. That can bring comfort. Unless, the conversation involves being in a similar situation.
That was what Mitchell and the Cavaliers had to suffer through on an episode of The Athletic's NBA Daily podcast. Alex Speers pointed out that the Cavaliers star shares an unfortunate comparison with Embiid throughout recent years.
"Among active players who have made an All-Star game, Donovan Mitchell is tied with Joel Embiid for most 50-win seasons without a conference finals appearance," Speers pointed out. "We don't think of him in the way we think about Embiid, ... but he's been on a lot of good teams too."
Donovan Mitchell must be front and center of Cavaliers success in 2025-26
The focus of the conversation for the podcast, at that point, was the players under the most pressure heading towards the start of the new season. It should be unsurprising to find Mitchell in that position.
The Cavaliers want to believe in themselves being the championship contenders that many are projecting them to be. That does not come to fruition without Mitchell producing an elite season and meeting all expectations that will follow him throughout 2025-26.
For the Cavaliers star guard, the labels have actually been quite kind to him when it comes to postseason discussions. Many would consider Mitchell a playoff riser.
Throughout eight seasons of playing in the NBA Playoffs, the six-time All-Star has averaged 28.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.4 steals during 36.8 minutes per game. Mitchell has shot 44.0 percent from the field and 35.5 percent from beyond the arc, contributing to a true shooting percentage of 56.1.
Those are respectable numbers. On the surface, they also confirm the label, with several of those categories being on par or higher than his career regular-season averages. However, the team success has just not matched up with the production.
In 2025-26, it will need to. Unless Mitchell wants to find himself in more difficult conversations, the Cavaliers need an NBA Finals appearance with the two-time All-NBA member leading the charge. That is certainly doable, but saying it versus ultimately executing are two different stories.