1 week Ago
CLEVELAND — This isn’t the first time Donovan Mitchell has played on a team that legitimately could win an NBA championship, but his list of opportunities isn’t a long one. This is certainly Kenny Atkinson’s first real chance at guiding a team to a title, something precious few coaches ever get the opportunity to do. Advertisement Now that the Cavs have clinched the top seed and will enjoy home-court advantage throughout the East, it’s fair to start considering the possibility of parades down East 9th again.
The next game that matters is about 10 days away, which means there’s time to start talking about the fun stuff. There is a difference between playoff contender and title contender. The Cavs were playoff contenders the last few years.
Now, they are title contenders. Part of what makes the Mitchell-Atkinson pairing special is that both came to Cleveland seeking more. Mitchell arrived in 2022 via trade and chose to stay.
He believed, correctly, that Cleveland gave him the best chance at winning. Atkinson identified this as a unique opportunity to coach a rising team — although he has acknowledged throughout the season, and again this week, that this Cavs run came together faster than he thought possible. “They knew they were good,” Atkinson said.
“I quite honestly didn’t know they were this good or this talented until I got to be with them.” "That was part of the allure..
. how young and in their prime this roster is." Kenny Atkinson expresses his excitement for the @cavs promising future 🙌 pic.
twitter.com/krMZLqeBN7 — NBA (@NBA) December 31, 2024 Mitchell has reached the precipice of the playoffs before, believing he had enough pieces to win it all. His Utah Jazz team won 52 games and earned the top seed in the West during the pandemic-altered 2020-21 season.
There were far more important matters going on in the world, so it’s forgivable if you forgot about that team. I know I did. Mitchell entered those playoffs believing the Jazz could win a championship.
Instead, the No. 1 seed was eliminated by the Los Angeles Clippers in the conference semifinals, a stunning and quick ending to a season with such promise. Mitchell is 28 now and finishing his eighth season in the league.
He has the All-Star Game appearances, the All-NBA teams and the max contracts already in the bank. The only thing he’s missing is postseason success, which is why he’s been quick to remind people throughout the season that the Cavs haven’t won anything yet. He’s right.
Advertisement The Cavs acquired Mitchell to be the sherpa for this young nucleus of raw talent. He has been marvelous as the face of the franchise, exactly what the organization wanted. But if we’re being honest, Mitchell has, for years, been trying to carve a path up a mountainside with which he was equally unfamiliar.
The Cavs needed him to take them to a destination he has yet to reach himself. Meanwhile, Atkinson’s first head coaching gig was exhuming the Brooklyn Nets from the bottom of the East River. As soon as he put the wheels back on the franchise, he was tossed out by superstars who thought they knew better.
I asked Atkinson this week if he believes this season is his first legitimate chance at a championship. He didn’t need long to respond, “Oh yeah,” as if I had asked him whether Jarrett Allen could dunk a basketball. Atkinson spent half a season with Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn before the Nets dumped him.
The world shut down just days later. There was no serious conversation about that team winning at an elite level, at least not until Kevin Durant was healthy the following year. By then, Atkinson was living in California.
So no, Atkinson has never been where the Cavs are trying to go, either. This season has changed his approach. While the Cavs were finishing off the Chicago Bulls this week and wrapping up the East, Atkinson stood on the court thinking about playoff matchups.
“I find myself thinking into the future more,” he said. “I think you have to, right? Like, you have to get ahead. I believe in doing your work early.
You have to plan what that looks like. It’s kind of a different sensation for me as a coach.” The next time Mitchell is on the floor will be a playoff game.
His regular season is likely over after a sprained ankle last weekend scared everyone — including Mitchell. He screamed in pain on the court, and every member of the Cavs swallowed hard and waited for him to get up. Now that everything is clinched, there’s no reason for Mitchell to play again until the games matter.
That could give him two weeks’ rest. Advertisement Mitchell finishes the season averaging 24 points a game, his lowest scoring average in five years and easily his lowest figure since arriving in Cleveland. Yet, it’s exactly what this team needed at this exact moment.
He has more help now than he did two years ago. At some point, “too young and not quite ready” organically evolves into “good and mature enough.” That’s where the Cavs reside now.
This sequence from our All-NBA guys. 😮💨 @dariusgarland22 & @_bigjayy_ | #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.
com/bgQQvZnIbc — Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) April 9, 2025 Though Mitchell and Atkinson are leading the Cavs into uncharted territory, the car has more drivers now. I believe when we get to the end of this postseason run, regardless of when it ends, Evan Mobley will be the most impactful player on this roster. That’s how it always had to be for this team to compete for titles.
They’re here now. While Atkinson starts strategizing about playoff matchups, post-timeout plays and late-game situations, and while Mitchell looks around the locker room at a team that’s a little bit older, a little bit more tested and a little bit more ready for what lies ahead, the Cavaliers believe their time is arriving. I asked Mitchell a few weeks ago if maybe the Cavs just have to wait out Boston.
The Celtics are so good, so deep and so powerful, but they have huge financial decisions to make this offseason. This Cavs roster is built for the next three postseasons, so if it doesn’t happen this year, they still have two more shots together before hard decisions have to be made. Mitchell dismissed the idea.
He heard that in Utah, too. Be patient. Wait.
But the Jazz’s time together never really arrived. Mitchell is tired of waiting. He believes the Cavs are ready to win.
Now. (Photo: Jason Miller / Getty Images).
