CLEVELAND – Consider the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 2024 playoff loss.
Two catastrophic setbacks, a lopsided loss that was expected, a devastating fourth quarter collapse and then, Game 3 Saturday.
The Cavs’ latest loss, 106-93, to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinal series troubled Donovan Mitchell more than anyone else – by a comfortable margin.
“Yeah, because a lot of it (Saturday) was self-inflicted,” Mitchell said. “I think (there were) a lot of things we did wrong.”
After dominant wins and embarrassing losses, Mitchell has been a steady force inside the Cavs locker room. He’s not the only voice of reason as several playoff veterans in Cleveland jerseys have gone to (and won) the NBA Finals and parlayed the years it takes into the two weeks it takes to compete in a playoff series.
Even after being defeated by the Orlando Magic by 38 in the first round series game or blowing a fourth quarter lead that could have put the Magic away, Mitchell’s body language and tone were noticeably upbeat. He sought and accepted blame, vowed to improve and ignored any undercurrents that seemed to be changing while Orlando kept beating the Cavs on the road.
But after the Cavs lost to the Celtics on Saturday, it was Mitchell’s turn to get the long stare. It was Michelle’s turn to reduce the pressure and take extra time to prepare herself for public speaking. As he sat in his chair in front of his corner locker stall, a scowl on his face and scrolling through his phone, a few errant conversations happened with individual teammates.
“We got up 36 3s; Obviously, we could have shot a little better,” Mitchell told reporters, referencing 33 percent shooting from 3 and 43 percent shooting overall. “Defensively, we held them to 106, but those bounces felt crazy in that moment. This is what I was talking about last game. “Those little details, those little runs can change the whole game.”
Mitchell was dominant on Saturday with 33 points on 12 of 22 shooting and seven 3s. Evan Mobley wasn’t as active as Game 2, but was still good with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Darius Garland and Caris LeVert both contributed 15 points — though they shot a combined 2 of 9 from 3. .
The Cavs saw Boston jump out to a 14–0 lead early in the third quarter and never recovered. The closest they got were nine points with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The Celtics’ third-quarter rally is a “surge,” but Mitchell was also referring to the beginning of the game when he said nine of Boston’s first 17 shots were 3s. An even smaller jump? The Cavs cut their first-half deficit to seven on a Mitchell 3-pointer with less than a minute remaining. Isaac Okoro had a clean look at a 3 on the next possession, which would have made it a four-point game, but he missed (as he did on all four of his 3-point attempts), and Jayson Tatum missed two free throws. Throw throws. Nine point advantage.
“We held them to 106, and it’s not a bad defensive game against a team like that, but it’s important moments when they get points, score runs and then not being able to score back at the other end ,” Michelle said. “It just mixes, and it mixes. I think that’s the frustrating part of it.”
It was Mitchell’s turn to talk about the pressure of playing against Boston’s offense. The Celtics had the NBA’s No. 1 offense and also had the league’s heaviest 3-point hitters. To illustrate Mitchell’s point, holding that team to 106 is a game the Cavs need to win.
That’s what Cleveland’s emphatic Game 2 win over the Celtics did. It serves as a road map for what is possible in this series if followed with great discipline. Defensively, run Boston outside the 3-point line and force its shaky ballhandlers to play off the dribble. On offense, take advantage of Kristaps Porziņš being out of the lineup. Attack the paint until the Celtics cave and help Porziski’s replacement Al Horford, who opens up the perimeter for 3s.
The Cavs…didn’t do much that Saturday. They fell into the trap set not only by the Celtics but before them by the Magic and the New York Knicks last spring: Feed Okoro for open 3s in the corner. This loss isn’t just Okoro’s fault, but broadly speaking, the Cavs were tempted to hunt 3s instead of maintaining the strict discipline they showed in Game 2, with more room to shoot on the perimeter. Till then, attempts were made to take close shots again and again. For Cleveland’s better shooters.
“I think there were a few times we tried to hit a home run,” said Mitchell, who included himself among those who swung for the fences and whined like Mighty Casey. “It feels like the weight of the world, especially when you’re at home. (The Celtics) did their job. They brought out the crowd, and at the end of the day, that’s how we respond. We did not respond.”
Dean Wade played his first game in two months, but Jarrett Allen did not join him – and if he had been able to play he could have had a huge impact in this series.
While Wade missed two full months due to a knee sprain and returned to action in Game 3 with five points in 16 minutes, Allen has now missed six consecutive playoff games due to what the team calls a rib injury. Is. If that’s all, Allen would have set a modern NBA record for games missed due to that injury. Reporting by athletic Despite how much pain Allen is in, his rib was “pierced” by Orlando’s Franz Wagner, but that was two weeks ago.
With Allen and Mobley on the court together, the Cavs will leave some voids with which they play so well. But in this particular series, Cleveland could get help from Boston guarding both Allen and Mobley or risk getting destroyed in the lane – which the Cavs were willing to do in Game 2.
“We just have to find different advantages and take those advantages instead of trying to do the same thing over and over again,” Mobley said.
The Cavs, again, are two wins from elimination and have many uncomfortable questions to ponder. Mitchell said there is no time to be “disheartened” over this loss because the most important game of the season is Game 4 on Monday.
But why this particular loss is troubling them more than others is noteworthy. This either means his expectations are high for this franchise because of what happened in Game 2, or he knows a golden opportunity to beat the Celtics was wasted on a night when they were nowhere near their best. .
We’ll see on Monday how Mitchell and the Cavs “respond” in Mitchell’s language.
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(Photo of Donovan Mitchell: David Richard/USA TODAY)