After being eliminated in the conference semifinals, is it fair to call the Cavs a regular-season team that fails to deliver in the playoffs?
INDEPENDENCE (AP) — Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers won 64 games during the regular season, captured the top seed in the Eastern Conference and had two winning streaks of at least 15 games.
Mitchell, though, goes into the offseason feeling one thing.
Embarrassed.
That’s because, despite all the good things the Cavaliers did in the regular season, most people will remember Cleveland’s exit in the conference semifinals after being worn down by Indiana in five games.
Of the 28 times a team has won at least 64 regular-season games, the Cavs are only the fourth to not have reached at least the conference finals.
“I hope we all feel it, and I think we do. We lost 4-1. We were the one seed. It’s not like we were the eighth seed trying to beat the one seed,” Mitchell said Wednesday morning. “Don’t run from this. It’s gonna be a loud summer and a lot of voices about what the Cavs are and what they should do. I’ve been through a few of those. Use it as fuel. It’s the only thing we can do.”
Mitchell’s comments came after not getting any sleep and watching replays of the Cavs’ 114-105 loss twice. Cleveland had a 19-point lead in the second quarter but couldn’t sustain it as Indiana pulled within four at halftime and took control in the third quarter.
It was the second time in the series the Cavaliers squandered a big lead. They had a 20-point lead late in the third quarter of Game 2 before losing 120-119 on Tyrese Halliburton’s 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left.
After dominating Miami in a first-round sweep, the Cavaliers were outplayed on both ends of the court by the Pacers. Indiana dictated the pace and was more physical in the paint.
“We have to do it for longer. I feel like that was the name of the game for every game that we played during the series. I feel like we could have been more locked in mentally for longer, been more physical for longer,” center Jarrett Allen said.
It also didn’t help that Cleveland went into the Indiana series hampered by injuries. Darius Garland missed the first two games due to an injury to his left big toe, while Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter were out for Game 2.
Coach Kenny Atkinson and his group prided themselves on their defensive intensity throughout the season. Still, Indiana averaged 117.6 points as its five-out offense created a lot of open shots.
Cleveland was one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the league during the regular season, but had a 29.4% accuracy rate against the Pacers.
“Quite honestly, I expected more coming off the Miami series. Now, we’ve got to figure out the next piece,” Atkinson said Tuesday night.
The good news for the Cavaliers is that the core of their roster is under contract. The bad news is that they are over both salary cap aprons, which would hamper them if they wanted to add another forward or center to the roster.
Before beginning his preparations for next season, Mitchell will take some time off where he said he’s “going on tour” with “good music.”
This is Mitchell’s fourth time on a team that advanced to the second round of the playoffs but not further. He was part of Utah’s top-seeded run in 2021, which ended with the Jazz being eliminated by the Los Angeles Clippers in six games.
Mitchell pointed to Mobley, the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year, who averaged 18.5 points and 9.3 rebounds in the regular season, when asked if this team has more staying power.
“He’s continuing to grow. He’s a guy that next year coming in is going to be even more important, even more crucial. Trying to get him to be even more aggressive,” Mitchell said.
Center Tristan Thompson — part of the Cavs’ 2016 NBA championship team — thinks the Cavs will be in the right frame of mind when training camp begins in September.
“You got to starve before you eat. We understand that. Guys across the board have that feeling,” he said. “We’ve got some hungry (expletive), so I know they’re going to do whatever they can this summer to get themselves right because we have some work to do.”
