“It’s not pretty right now.”

Widely favored in their matchup against the Grizzlies, the Cavs had to wait until fourth quarter to win. A win more complicated than one might imagine coming off the back of a setback against the Raptors in which the fatigue factor played a role.

« It won’t be perfect every night. There are so many different factors. Fatigue, whatever you want to call it. But we still have to be that team, right? (…) Tonight we responded when we should have. We didn’t give our shots », Remark Donovan Mitchell o the first three quarters at the end of which his team was limited to 76 points.

But in the grand final, Donovan Mitchell, who highlights the aggressiveness of Evan Mobley, and his team did not fail. In the last quarter, they won with 32 to 16 and made the decision. And thus improved the collective record to 9 wins for 5 losses, with 3rd place in the East.

« That’s why I always tell you that I prefer it to 15-0, because we have to go and win. And that’s what it will take to be that group. I turned the page last year. But if we take a closer look, we were in this position, a similar position, where we just couldn’t make the playoffs. And then the other day we were in a situation where we let go of the lead. We learn from all this », continues the local leader.

Absences are not an excuse

Last year, his Cavs started with a 15-game winning streak before finishing with a 64-18 record and first place in the East. The page of the last regular season has now been turned, and Mitchell is not looking at this slightly slower start to the season that allows the character of a team stripped of several key elements to be forged. Starting with Darius Garland who was still out last night.

« There will be obstacles in the way (…) I’m not saying that DG and Max (stress) are an excuse. We have a lot of talent on this team. But I think for us it’s just to keep improving and building, especially defensively. Offensively, there will be things that need to be addressed “, predicts Mitchell.

At 116.7 points per 100 possessions, Cleveland has the league’s 11th-most efficient offense — after ranking first last year — and 10th-ranked defense (112.5 points allowed). The Ohio team seems to be taking a step down in terms of dominance.

« It’s not pretty right now. We are aware of this and will work to improve it. We only have 14 games. Yes, I would like to be a little further ahead, but that is not the case. And obviously, right now, we don’t have two driving forces in our offense on the field. So the responsibility goes to me, to Evan, to Dre (De’Andre Hunter). But everything will fall into place eventually, we just have to keep building », concludes the optimistic Mitchell.