This past season, guard Donovan Mitchell took the Cleveland Cavaliers from an upstart team to one that had a strong record and made the playoffs.
There is still growth that needs to occur, but the Cavs are clearly on the right track, and Mitchell is the biggest reason why.
Yet at age 26, he still seems to have room for improvement.
Former Cavs forward Richard Jefferson, a member of their 2016 championship team, feels Mitchell needs to improve as a facilitator and distributor, per his podcast.
“I think Donovan Mitchell has to raise his game. He’s gotta make sure, I say this respectfully, that he doesn’t turn into Dame Lillard. Donovan’s gotta make people around him better. The only next step that Donovan can take: Less of a volume shooter, more a game manager” @Rjeff24 https://t.co/24eSDuD0M6 pic.twitter.com/BcUlY4L6a1
— Dru (@dru_star) August 7, 2023
Mitchell had his best season yet during the 2022-23 campaign, averaging 28.3 points a game while shooting 48.4 percent from the field, both of which were career highs.
But he averaged just 4.4 assists a game in the regular season, although he increased that figure to 7.2 a contest in Cleveland’s five-game first-round playoff loss to the New York Knicks.
Critics have charged that Mitchell is nothing more than an undersized two-guard who scores and scores but doesn’t do anything else at an above-average level.
But he has had a history of going off for big scoring games in the playoffs to help elevate his team.
The Cavs definitely seem to be on the upswing, as big man Evan Mobley and guard Darius Garland are still apparently on an upward trajectory.
The loss to the Knicks exposed how soft and young their frontline is, but unfortunately, the Cavs did little to address that issue, and therefore they will need internal improvement in order to win their first playoff series since LeBron James’ second departure in 2018.
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