Amid a three-game losing streak and going into a second night of a back-to-back on the road, the Cleveland Cavaliers had to come out with a victory over the Indiana Pacers. So, before the matchup, Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson sent a text to Donovan Mitchell with a message that would foreshadow his night.
“‘You've got to go for 40 tonight,'” Atkinson said, noting that Mitchell likely didn't need his motivation but wanted to double down on his belief. “I've never said that to a player. ‘If you take 30 shots, I'm good with it. And if you take five or six bad ones, we're good with it.' I've never said that to him or any player, but he felt it, I felt it; we needed him tonight. Just had to get a W.”
Mitchell finished the game with 43 points, nine rebounds, and six assists on 16 of 27 from the field, knocking down four shots from deep to take the league lead in total threes made with 81. It was his third 40-point performance of the season and his second in the last three contests, helping lead the Cavs to a 135-119 win. Atkinson is not okay with Cleveland being so overreliant on “Superman,” as he referred to the All-Star shooting guard, but right now, “It is what it is.”
“We're asking a lot of him. Without him, how many wins do we have?” Atkinson asked. “We have to ask ourselves that question. Everybody talks about the great players in this league; this guy is one of 'em. Top five, you could say whatever you want.”
During his typically happy-go-lucky postgame interview with Serena Winters, Mitchell was stoic and matter-of-fact, not only satisfied with a double-digit win over a team the Cavs were expected to handle easily. The story his eyes told after Sunday's loss in Boston followed him Monday into Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“Rarely is Don not jovial,” Atkinson said. “I looked at him pregame, and you knew. Almost more business-like than ever. I kind of knew we weren't gonna lose this game. He wasn't gonna let us lose it and did it on both ends.”
It sounds like Mitchell is done playing games. Jaylon Tyson is right there with him, too.
The Cavs are ticked off, and if that mentality can trickle down from their leader and throughout the locker room, that level of focus could be the key to getting back on track.
