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While it's becoming clearer that the Cleveland Cavaliers are better off with Darius Garland being the alpha in their backcourt, it doesn't mean Donovan Mitchell can't shine. With the team's rotation fully healthy, the Cavs have found a nuclear lineup that can let Mitchell shine brightest whenever he's not sharing the floor with Garland.
New Donovan Mitchell-led lineup for Cavs
Toward the end of the first quarter of Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Cavs rolled out a lineup of Mitchell, Caris LeVert, Max Strus, Georges Niang and Jarrett Allen. In that short span, the lineup generated 21 of Cleveland's 40 points on a hyper-efficient 60 percent shooting. Meanwhile, it didn't get as much run in the second quarter, considering Mitchell was on a minute restriction.
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Nevertheless, the quintet scored 13 of the Cavs' 31 points, hitting on a far less efficient 38.5 percent of the 13 attempts together. In the second half, the efficiency decreased, with the group only scoring 11 points, connecting on 30.0 percent of their 20 attempts on the floor. Now, you probably think this group isn't a stellar option for Cleveland to roll with considering that the Cavs went off a cliff offensively as the game rolled along. Well, a lot of that can be attributed to Garland missing the entire second half after suffering another strained neck injury midway into the second quarter.
The lack of Garland left the point guard responsibilities firmly in the lap of undrafted rookie Craig Porter Jr., who finished the game with 11 points on 71.4 percent shooting and one assist. The scoring output from Porter Jr. was for sure needed by the Cavs, considering it kept them within striking distance of the Lakers. But what Porter Jr. can give Cleveland pales compared to what Garland can give the Cavs. Mind you, that's not any shade toward Porter Jr. or anything. It's just the simple reality of the situation.
Instead, this lineup allowed Mitchell, who has missed several games with a nagging hamstring injury, to shake off any rust he's been dealing with. It helped Mitchell lead Cleveland in scoring, where he had 22 points and connected on 92.3 percent of his eleven free throw attempts. More impressively, Mitchell was one of the lead playmakers for the Cavs, racking up six assists, which led to 14 points for Cleveland.
Head coach JB Bickerstaff and a few players in the past had joked that the newfound spacing for Cleveland would take some adjusting to compared to how the Cavs played last year. Well, after one game, it looks like Mitchell is very comfortable, especially with the new nuclear lineup. Mitchell can attack the basket, using Allen as a pick-and-roll big man and lob threat. If the defense overreacts to this, he can then kick it out to a myriad of shooters in LeVert, Niang and Strus. It still has a way's to go but, for now, it has a lot of potential to make some noise for the Cavs.
