Sitting at 36-22 on the season and in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, it feels like the Cleveland Cavaliers have had three different seasons rolled into one.
From having 27 different starting lineups due to a cascade of injuries to being one game above .500 on Dec. 29 to the trade of long-time point guard Darius Garland for James Harden, the Cavs have dealt with it all this year.
Teams that deal with that much adversity are usually bound to crumble. Fortunately for Cleveland, they have not, and it has been because of one constant.
Donovan Mitchell’s underrated season has been the one constant for the Cavaliers
Mitchell has quietly put together the best season of his career. He is averaging a career-high 29 points per game, five rebounds, six assists, and two steals. He is shooting 49 percent from the field, which would also be a career-best, and 37 percent from 3-point range.
Despite all of that, it feels like no one is talking about how great Mitchell has been. The Ringer’s Zach Lowe said as much on The Bill Simmons Podcast. He can’t believe that Mitchell isn’t getting more MVP or All-NBA first team love.
Mitchell is putting up numbers on par with other candidates like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Cade Cunningham. The one thing he doesn’t have is the wins.
Cleveland’s slow start to the season effectively eliminated him from the MVP discussion. Unless the Cavs go on an absolute heater to close the season and take the one seed away from the Detroit Pistons, Mitchell likely won’t get MVP recognition.
This is not to say that Mitchell won’t get any recognition. He will likely be an All-NBA selection. Mitchell could even be on the first team when coupling the the potential for Cleveland to close the season well and a huge amount of stars being on pace to miss the 65-game requirement.
Even then, the goal for this Cleveland team and Mitchell is not for him to get an MVP or All-NBA First Team. It is to advance deep into the playoffs, the goal the franchise set out for themselves last offseason.
Mitchell and the Cavs want to be known for playing their best ball during the springtime sprint, not the regular season marathon. They flamed out last year after acing the marathon, but went out with a whimper in May. In order for Cleveland to get their redemption, their superstar needs to continue to be the constant.