Donovan Mitchell’s Friday night was unusual to say the least. A rare single-digit performance, a shooting slump that left fans stunned, and a loss that stung. But even the brightest stars have their off nights, right? All year, he has been the best player for the Cavs and led them to the top seed in the East. But he struggled to find his rhythm against the Suns and put up a rare single-digit performance, finishing with 7 points on an abysmal 2 of 18 shooting. Surely, the Cavs would be hoping for a much better outing from Spida today as they take on the Jazz.
Yes, Mitchell is expected to suit up as he is not listed on the injury report. Of course, there were some concerns about his health as he missed two straight games earlier this month due to left groin soreness. However, he seems ready to go against the Utah team.
Of course, that is a massive boost for the Cavs because apart from Friday’s game, Donovan has been in incredible form all season, averaging 23.8 points and nearly five assists. Moreover, he was highly motivated to play better going forward as he took accountability for the loss against Suns, “I’m gonna put this on me. When your leader ain’t doing s—, this is what happens. If I’m not being who I need to be, then we not gonna get to where we want to get to. I will be better.” So, he will surely be fired up today.
Meanwhile, Kenny Atkinson did not seem too bothered by Spida’s seven-point performance during the postgame interview, “You know you’re just gonna have moments like this during the season. We’ve been running him hard, third game in four nights and it’s just this is the reality of the NBA.”
Doesn’t matter how great a player is, they are bound to have off nights every once in a while. It was the same for Mitchell, as Atkinson added, “I mean I’ve seen it happen to KD, I’ve seen it happen to Book, it’s just part of it… We can’t expect him every single night to have that. He’s there 98% of the time, we’ll take that.”
Apart from Mitchell, the rest of the Cavs roster is also healthy and available for today’s game. The only player on the injury report is rookie Jaylon Tyson – Questionable due to a knee injury. And he is not a major part of Atkinson’s rotation. So, the Cleveland team would be hoping to snap their four-game losing streak with a healthy lineup and not make the same mistakes they did on Friday.
Kenny Atkinson disappointed with the Cavs’ “Mental Breakdowns” against the Suns
While Mitchell’s single-digit outing was a major reason behind the Cavs’ loss in the last game, another factor was their underwhelming defense. They could do nothing to stop the Suns’ offense while Kevin Durant dropped 42 points to lead his team to victory. Sure enough, Atkinson was not pleased with the defensive effort and said, “Oh man, you know again, energy wasn’t great. We’re kind of just in position, but we’re not impacting plays. Against elite shooting teams, that’s not enough.”
Feb 23, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) reacts during the first half against the Memphis Grizzlies at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
He continued, “What I don’t like and I said this pregame, I said I don’t like the mental mistakes you know. Not closing out on a hot shooter or jumping for a pump fake on a non-shooter. Like we’re having too many mental breakdowns. Those are the ones that you’re like ‘Man we control this. We can do better here.” With Spida and the rest of the roster healthy, hopefully, they will be able to implement Atkinson’s advice against the Jazz and get a much-needed win on the road to end the week on a positive note. Do you think they can do it?
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