Since Darius Garland sprained his right toe 11 days ago, Donovan Mitchell has put a lot of the Cleveland Cavaliers' burden on his shoulders. Opponents, however, are taking their chances with anyone else handling the ball, constantly double-teaming him when he has it and denying him touches without it. Over the weekend, ClutchPoints asked Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson about the possibility of utilizing Mitchell away from the ball to combat that.
“Yeah, we talked about it,” Atkinson told ClutchPoints during Friday's pregame press conference. “We talked about it against Charlotte. We knew they were going to top lock him and all that. I'm really familiar with it, with Steph [Curry]. Definitely can use him in more screening actions. I'll think if teams continue to do it, we'll see more of that.”
Though he doesn't have a ton of screen assists on the season (12), Mitchell has had some success as a roll man. In 16 possessions, he has scored 1.13 points per possession in those scenarios, according to the NBA's play-type data. This isn't suggesting Cleveland has to employ this strategy every time down, but mixing in ball screens could be healthy for him and the team's diet.
Though Curry isn't used that way, he is a deadly ghost screen option who relocates at will and is in perpetual motion. For the past five games, Mitchell has been blanketed by different defenders from various teams, as Curry has his entire career.
Philadelphia 76ers swingman Kelly Oubre Jr. and first-year guard VJ Edgecombe started it nine days ago, which opponents have copied in the week since. We saw OKC Thunder stalwart Lu Dort, Charlotte Hornets rookie Sion James (plus Kon Knueppel), Sacramento Kings veteran Dennis Schroder, and Orlando Magic third-year riser Anthony Black all follow suit.
Each of them was glued to Mitchell when he didn't have possession of the rock, and when he did, the ball pressure was heavy. Opponents will trade Mitchell's power dribbling attack for Cavs second-year guard Jaylon Tyson being forced to make decisions, or even Evan Mobley acting as a hub while bringing it up the floor; the same goes for younger players such as Craig Porter Jr. or Tyrese Proctor.
“It's just like you pick and choose,” Mitchell said. “It's like, they've been trying to deny me for the past five games, and credit to everybody in this locker room for figuring things out and playing to that. Now, [Mobley]'s got it going. Now it's like, ‘Alright, we've got to stop Ev.' But now, if they're [throwing] two at me and I throw the ball to Jaylon, now Jaylon has all that space to create, right? And shout out to Jaylon because, the half roll, it's him and I. That two-man game has been phenomenal. It's a big credit to him and the work he's put in.
“Then it's like, alright, you find JA [Jarrett Allen] now, too. So, [defenses have] got to figure out where [they] want to go. And then, on top of that, [if] you miss a layup, he's right there. It's just different things that you can do, and then inverted screens, little things to kind of free [Mobley] up and make all of our lives easier.”
Mitchell has expended a lot of energy to find room to operate, even more than the last time Garland was sidelined.
“You're going to be tired,” Mitchell said. “I think the second thing is figuring out how to be smart.”
As one of his most vocal supporters all season long, Mitchell noted that it will take time for Tyson and Cleveland's less experienced guys to figure out ways to counter while he's being hounded. The All-Star guard noted a nearly costly turnover where Tyson got a stop and bounced a pass to him before even crossing half court; Malik Monk stole it and rimmed out a three that would've made it a one-point game with less than a minute left. Tyson had the right idea, but the wrong timing.
“I think it was more scrappiness than beauty,” Atkinson said. “But they're taking away your two best players. Other guys [have] got to make plays, and I think Jaylon, he's got to do some of that for us until we get some guys back.”
For all of the consistent good that Tyson, Porter, Proctor, and Nae'Qwan Tomlin have brought to the table, this will be their next challenge.
“It's like, ‘Hey, they're guarding me like this. Let me do this, let me do that, and screen for you or get it in different pockets. Sometimes it's just for this possession, I'm going to go stand over here, and you have to play 4-on-4 in the open space,'” Mitchell explained. “So just trying to manage that and not always just be going and going and going. It started in Philly, and I think you just see everybody do their roles at a higher level. It's been great as well.”
Cavs have to take care of the basketball better
Willing to have those mistakes be made is better than the alternative of Mitchell being completely gassed by the time April rolls around. It should also help with the self-inflicted wounds that have held Cleveland back, as the team has racked up 84 turnovers in those five games. Mitchell has had 19, while Tyson (15), De'Andre Hunter (11), Mobley (10), Porter (8), and Allen (6) have been culpable.
Atkinson attributes the rise in miscues to a couple of factors.
“Probably spacing first, and then decision-making,” Atkinson said. “We're down a few, [down some] some gravity, and as gravity gets reduced, your turnovers go up. The more shooters you have on the floor, the easier it is to keep your turnovers down. So I would say that explains most of it.
“I'm not thrilled with our decisions. Some of it is we've got to keep trusting our young guys, keep throwing 'em the ball when they're open. I still think we're trying to drive through gaps that aren't there [when defenses] are in the paint. We can get one of our role players to cut, maybe he's not a great shooter, so we've got to do it a little differently. But like I said, sometimes you get two, three, four [giveaways]. Sometimes we have not-great shooters; your turnovers are going to go up.”
On the flip side, the Cavs have been digging deep to overcome those mistakes and emerge victorious. They've won three straight games and 10 of their last 14, scaling the Eastern Conference as the current fifth seed.
“It's how we continue to stack,” Mitchell said. “It's at the point now where I don't really care how we do it as long as we continue to win games. I mean, at the end of the day, it's not going to be pretty. I think we've done a great job of believing as a collective. Last year was last year. It's a different year, different season. This is who we are. We're going to continue to build and find ways to win, and this is going to help us, ultimately.”
“It's a different story this year, right? There's more parity than ever in the league. I think that's a fact,” Atkinson added. “The race is tighter, so maybe you're not going to go knock off 15 in a row. But I think the way it's set up right now, if you can get three, four in a row, it can really push you to another seeding, another place in the standings. So, I think for us, it becomes important to start stacking some consecutive wins instead of the up-and-down and back-and-forth. Our guys know it; we talk about it. But now, we've got to go out there and do it.”
