Returning home with a 2-0 deficit for the second straight series, the Cavaliers plan to lean heavily on Donovan Mitchell in tonight’s Game 3, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN. The star guard issued a calming message after his team lost by 16 points in Game 2.
“I’m not sitting here like, oh man, scrambling and trying to figure things out,” Mitchell said. “At the end of the day, we make some shots, we’ll be in good shape. … We’ll make our adjustments. We’ll be at home and protect home court.”
Collier notes that Mitchell already rescued the Cavs’ season in January when they got off to a disappointing 17-16 start after posting the best record in the East last year. Mitchell’s usage rate increased as he took on an expanded role in the offense, and he provided a source of encouragement in the locker room by expressing belief in his teammates.
“He’s our vocal leader. He’s our leader in general,” Dean Wade said. “We go as he goes. When we were having a little rough parts of the season, he was just monumental. He just kept us together, didn’t let us split at all, kept everything positive.”
There’s more from Cleveland:
- Meeting with reporters before Game 3, coach Kenny Atkinson dispelled rumors that Mitchell is dealing with an injury, relays Steve Popper of Newsday (Twitter link). “Normal bumps and bruises, nothing you’re like ‘oh man,'” Atkinson said. “That’s his feedback, knows his body better than anybody else. ‘I’m fine coach.’ … guys are going to be banged up. That’s part of it.”
- The Cavaliers will need more scoring from Evan Mobley, who didn’t take a single shot in the second half of Thursday’s game, per Joe Reedy of The Associated Press. Center Jarrett Allen, who had 13 points in the loss, agrees with Atkinson’s assessment that the team needs better execution on its pick-and-rolls. “Sometimes I feel like we can just go set the pick, stop waiting for a play, stop waiting for somebody to call us up, and just run the offense from ourselves, not necessarily taking the ball and bringing it up the court, but initiating the offense by just going and setting a screen out of the blue,” Allen said.
- Atkinson and Mitchell both said the team had the right “process” for Game 2, even though it didn’t result in a victory, according to Ryan Lewis of The Akron Beacon Journal. The Cavs were betrayed by their shooting as they connected at just 38.8% from the field and 25.7% from 3-point range. “I thought we had a lot of good looks, a lot of good looks from three, good looks at the rim — I thought our process was right,” Atkinson said. “[We] took care of the ball, offensive rebounded. I think it wasn’t a great shooting night. At the end of the day, you got to put the ball in the hole.”
- Atkinson decided to keep his starting lineup intact instead of replacing Wade, relays Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link).