At one point during the 2023-24 NBA regular season, the Cleveland Cavaliers looked like one of the best teams in the league. Donovan Mitchell was playing MVP-caliber basketball, helping keep the team afloat as they navigated some injuries.
The team was as high as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, as everything was clicking. But, when injury struck Mitchell, the team’s momentum came to a screeching halt. Now, with just a few weeks until the NBA Playoffs behind, the Cavaliers are heading in the wrong direction.
Sunday’s loss to the Denver Nuggets was yet another ugly performance by the team. They lost by 29 points, their sixth double-digit loss of the month. Granted, Mitchell missed 13 games in March, but the team’s performance is something that led to him sharing some strong comments on Sunday night.
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Donovan Mitchell & Cleveland Cavaliers Updates
“We can all point to s—. It’s April. It’s f—— April. We’ve got to figure it out. Gotta be better,” Mitchell said, via Chris Fedor of cleveland.com.
A reaction like that from Mitchell is rare. He usually takes the high road and provides an optimistic outlook for the team, but the losing seems to be taking a toll on him. The Cavaliers are attempting to shake the perception of being a soft team heading into the postseason and this stretch isn’t going to help that.
Luckily for the Cavaliers, the New York Knicks, their main competition for the No. 3 seed, has struggled in recent games as well. The injuries New York has been dealing with are catching up to them, as they lost heartbreaking games to the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder.
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Donovan Mitchell & Cleveland Cavaliers Updates
That has helped the Cavaliers get back into third place, but their hold on that position is tenuous, at best. While the results of other teams around the NBA will have an impact on their standing, they need to focus solely on themselves and figure out how to get things back on track.
Mitchell calling out his teammates a little bit could light a fire under them. It will be interesting to see how they come out in their next game against the Utah Jazz, a homecoming for Mitchell after he spent the first five seasons of his NBA career with the franchise. That is game two of what can be a season-defining five-game road trip before a three-game homestand to finish the regular season.
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