The Cleveland Cavaliers pride themselves on toughness, defensive identity, and continuity. But after Wednesday night’s 122-110 loss to the struggling Portland Trail Blazers, the tone shifted, and Donovan Mitchell didn’t sugarcoat it.
Mitchell, who finished with 33 points in the defeat, delivered a message that was equal parts blunt and measured, a reflection of growing frustration amid a critical stretch of inconsistency.
The Cavs, now 13-10, have dropped four of their last five, and Wednesday marked their first loss this season to a team with a losing record.
“Take this on the chin.”
Donovan Mitchell’s assessment of the #Cavs right now is telling. Frustration coupled with being grounded, disappointment coupled with understanding the reality of where things currently stand and will go. Balanced as always. pic.twitter.com/bmU7LEm8AV
— Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) December 4, 2025
“Take this on the chin,” Mitchell said postgame. “The league changes every year, teams get better, trends shift, and nothing is guaranteed. We’ve got to adjust. It’s still early, but we need to come back with urgency.”
That urgency was visibly lacking for long stretches against Portland.
Despite Mitchell and Evan Mobley combining for 56 points, Mobley contributing 23 points and 10 rebounds, the Cavs struggled with defensive breakdowns and inconsistent intensity.
Portland shot 34-of-39 from the free-throw line, with Deni Avdija torching Cleveland for 27 points, and reserves Caleb Love and Shaedon Sharpe adding 20 each.
For a team that ranked near the top of the league defensively a year ago, the performance was especially puzzling.
“We weren’t disciplined, and we let them dictate,” Mitchell added. “That can’t happen, not at home, not against teams we should beat.”
Cleveland entered the season with elevated expectations after last year’s playoff breakthrough. But with injuries early in the schedule and fluctuating defensive effort, consistency has been elusive.
Mitchell, however, made it clear panic isn’t part of the equation; accountability is.
“We’ll respond. We have to,” he said. “This is part of it, growth, adversity, figuring out who we are. But tonight? We take it on the chin, and we learn from it.”
For now, the Cavaliers remain a work in progress, talented, competitive, but searching for rhythm.
And as Mitchell emphasized Wednesday night, the next stretch will reveal whether this group can evolve or stall.
