Donovan Mitchell is no stranger to fiery outbursts from a head coach.
He played two seasons at the University of Louisville under Hall of Fame - and noted firecracker - Rick Pitino. Sunday Mitchell was brought back to those days in college by an explosion from his current coach, Kenny Atkinson.
Heading into a Sunday afternoon game vs the LA Clippers, the Cleveland Cavaliers were in a funk. They had lost a number of games that they were favored in, were just 3-5 in their last eight games, and overall did not look like a team fine-tuning itself for the playoffs.
Atkinson had mostly been ringing the "R-E-L-A-X" bell, pointing to the schedule and the fatigue of an 82-game schedule. Sunday, however, Atkinson looked at his team prior to the game and something erupted.
Kenny Atkinson lit up the Cavaliers
Per Joe Vardon of The Athletic (although Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor may have had it first) Atkinson walked into Cleveland's locker room prior to the game and was talking about the Final Four, including the dominance of the Duke Blue Devils.
Then Atkinson snapped, throwing his water bottle at a TV screen and started screaming "out of nowhere" according to Mitchell. Jarrett Allen chimed in “There was a very (explicit) message with a lot of choice words from Kenny that got us fired up."
That energy flowed out of the ranting Atkinson and into his players. They came out against an opponent that had just punked them days before and took it to them. Allen was dominant inside, outplaying the burlier Ivica Zubac to the tune of 25 points and 12 boards. Evan Mobley had 22 points and three blocks.
Mitchell had 24 points and 12 rebounds, and he was everywhere on defense in the fourth quarter - not the same effort and energy he had been showing on that end in recent games. Mitchell said "That really got us going...he's fiery."
Atkinson wasn't just the motivational speaker, either. He tightened his rotations and coached like he was in a playoff game. In his mind, they were -- if they didn't prioritize the remaining few games of the season, the Cavaliers were going to head into the playoffs off their game and covered in rust.
The victory was important not only to get the team back on track and to prove itself against an opponent with size, it was also a monumental win. The Cavaliers notched their 60th win of the season, only the third time in the history of the franchise a team won that many games. The other two, as with most Cleveland records, came with LeBron James in town.
With seven games to go, if Cleveland wins out they could set a new franchise record for wins with 67. Go 6-1 and they tie the record. Whether that is a priority for this Cavs team or not, their focus is on being ready for the playoffs -- locked in, playing their best, and caring about each game.
Atkinson won't rant and rave before every game, but it's good to know his team responds to his energy. They may need it again come May or even June - and the "fiery" coach will be ready to unleash it.