Leaders shelter their teammates from the fallout of the brutalities in the NBA. Donovan Mitchell did no such thing for Jaylon Tyson following the Cleveland Cavaliers' disappointing 117-115 loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
It was something that did not sit well with Brian Windhorst, who pointed it out on an episode of The Hoop Collective. The optics of the fallout were not kind to the Cavaliers star.
Windhorst said, "Donovan has prided himself on being the voice of the team, in good times and bad, taking accountability. ... The guy who was giving the state of the team address ... was second-year forward Jaylon Tyson. ... He was basically calling himself and his own team out for lack of focus."
Neither Tim Bontemps or Tim MacMahon thought highly of how the postgame unfolded on Mitchell's part. MacMahon spoke up in disappointment, sharing it was not Tyson's place to be put in that spot. The ESPN reporter thought his vets needed to be sheltering the young wing from that position.
Donovan Mitchell's leadership deserves all the scrutiny after major letdown
Slice it whatever way you'd like, Mitchell failed to do his part after this one. The Cavaliers star guard received plenty of praise in the offseason for his leadership. It is only fair the criticism, when warranted, matches that volume. Here, it is.
Tyson, for his part, could not help but vent his frustrations. The Cavaliers were bad. Injuries could not be used as an excuse against a Celtics team that was just as banged up, if not more. Calling it as it is: Cleveland lost a game, at home, that they had no business dropping.
If the team's best player does not stand there and face to heat for that one, who does?
Perhaps it was the mediocre performance that forced Mitchell out the door early. The Cavaliers star scored 18 points, shooting 7-of-16 from the field and 3-of-7 from beyond the arc, to go with seven rebounds, eight assists, and five turnovers.
That much could be a reason, but it is certainly not an excuse. As far as his own individual outings go, it was disappointing, but it wasn't even his worst game of the season.
Cleveland has now lost three straight for the first time in 2025-26. These are the moments you would want your best player in there to steer the ship, not jump overboard.