Max Strus hit a three to put the Cavs up 117-110 against the Pacers with a minute and six seconds left. Cleveland was seemingly going to tie the series despite injuries to three key players. Instead, the Pacers made a remarkable comeback and won the game on a Tyrese Haliburton three. Now, the Cavs are down 0-2, and their season is falling apart.
Heading into the series against Indiana, Darius Garland was questionable with a lingering toe injury. As if that wasn’t enough, during the game, De’Andre Hunter and Evan Mobley suffered injuries that would keep them out for game two. Like last season in the semifinals, Donovan Mitchell was going to carry the Cavs, and he did his best, but it wasn’t enough.
Despite the loss, Donovan Mitchell put up 48 points, five rebounds, nine assists, and four steals. He joined Russell Westbrook as the only players in NBA history to have those numbers in a playoff game. With a performance that good being completely wasted, Mitchell is learning what it means to be the superstar player on a Cleveland sports team, unlucky. Something LeBron certainly felt during his time in Cleveland, and something the late 80’s, early 90’s Cavs teams probably felt as well.
The series is over if the Cavs lose the next game and go down 0-3. If that happens and Cleveland fails to reach the Eastern Conference Finals, changes must be made. A 64-win regular season means nothing if failure continues in the postseason, and that has been the case for Donovan Mitchell’s entire career. This isn’t suggesting the Cavs move on from Mitchell, though. He and Evan Mobley are the true untouchables on the team. Instead, the team must evaluate the rest of the roster and make the necessary moves to make Cleveland a city of champions again.
Injuries or not, the Cavs’ failure to reach the conference finals every year in the Donovan Mitchell era thus far is unacceptable. Every single postseason, the team finds a way to collapse. Perhaps the 2016 championship will be the only one in franchise history.
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