Donovan Mitchell shows skills, leadership with Cavs

Cavaliers shooting guard Donovan Mitchell said he's just trying to impact games. The six-time All-Star is doing that and much, much more. His play has been dominating since Cleveland returned from its lackluster 2-3 West Coast trip. Here's a sampling of some of his performances in the last week: Mitchell scored a game-high 27 points and had six rebounds and five assists in the Cavs' come-from-behind victory over New York on Wednesday. He also tied his career high with three blocked shots. The 6-foot-3, 215-pounder had 24 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and four steals in the win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. Mitchell erupted for a game-high 38 points, 22 in the fourth quarter, in the loss at Detroit on March 28. In what Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson called his best overall game of the season, he had 25 points, eight rebounds and dished out a career-high 14 assists in the narrow victory over the San Antonio Spurs on March 27. He joined LeBron James, Larry Nance and Andre Miller as the only Cleveland players to ever have at least 25 points, eight rebounds and 14 assists in a game. The Cavs (61-15) will face the Spurs again tonight at the Frost Bank Center. Cleveland tied the 2009-10 team that also won 61 games. The Cavs would have to win all six of their remaining games to eclipse the 2008-09 team's franchise record of 66 wins. It's attainable but unlikely. Cleveland has improved its win total by 13 wins from a season ago (48-34). Atkinson, the 11th coach in NBA history to win at least 61 games in the first season as a head coach with a new team, realizes how well his star player is playing. "He's leading it," he said. "He's on the guys in the huddle. There's no question who our leader is. He's leading by example right now. He's doing the dirty work." Mitchell, 28, has played 69 games, the most since 2019-20, in a career-low 31.4 minutes per game. But don't equate that with having an off year. Some think it's one of the best seasons in his eight-year career. He's averaging 24 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.33 steals. Mitchell attempts 18.6 shots per game, the lowest since his rookie year in Utah in 2017-18. He's shooting .443 from the field, .367 from the 3-point line and .831 from the foul line. His 226 3-pointers are second-most ever by a Cleveland player and are ninth in the NBA. Mitchell's efficiency is through the roof. He's fifth in the league with a plus-521 when he's on the floor and is averaging a career-high plus-7.6. "After the little stretch I went on when things weren't so good, I'm trying to find ways to impact the games," he said. "I was trying to create havoc and get on the boards. I set a goal for myself in rebounds per game. I want to help out the bigs on the glass. "I want to find guys when they're open. The scoring is going to be the scoring. How am I impacting winning? That's been my mentality." Mitchell is a finalist for the NBA's Teammate of the Year award. "The biggest thing is empowerment," he said. "Everybody says you have to sacrifice and are you willing to do that for the overall good of the group?" Mitchell admits he questioned things early on when his minutes and touches were down. He said he had been doing things a certain way for the first seven years of his career and with Atkinson coming in this season, things changed. "One, it helped that we were winning," he said. "I must clearly be doing something right. You look in the mirror and say, 'How do we get the most out of Evan (Mobley)? (How do we) get D.G. (Darius Garland) back to form? Scoring, I'm going to do that. Am I impacting the games at the highest level? How am I in the huddles keeping everybody calm? Sometimes it's shutting up and letting it play out. Before a big game, it's, 'Hey, take care of your body tonight.' Whatever the situation calls for. "I'm grateful for my teammates to allow me to do that and be that guy. It can be different in NBA locker rooms. Sometimes players aren't receptive to that. They allow me to be that guy. I'm not who I am without them. Statistically, it's a down year. But it's been the best year as a group for me. Winning is truly what matters." Mitchell should finish in the top 10 in the voting for the NBA's Most Valuable Player award. He also has a shot at being on the All-NBA team. One behind-the-scenes aspect of Mitchell's game is the presence of Cavs associate head coach Johnnie Bryant, who joined the staff from the Knicks this year and was an assistant in Utah when Mitchell played for the Jazz. "He has a great demeanor," Atkinson said. "He keeps me even keeled. He has a good feel for the game. He's good with player development. His relationship with Donovan (Mitchell) is great for us." Bryant doesn't hold back with Mitchell. "He absolutely rips him," Atkinson said. "That's good so I don't always have to be the bad cop." Mitchell said Bryant approached him before the season started and informed him that his numbers might decrease this year. "He was the first person to come to me and say, 'Hey, this is how it's going to be to take us to the next level,' " Mitchell said. "I trust that guy with everything. It's more than just a coach. That's a brother. That's family. That's somebody I trust with life, not just basketball. He holds me accountable. He means the world to me. "I don't like to be coddled. I don't want my butt kissed." Allen soaring Cavs center Jarrett Allen is shooting .912 from the field (31-of-34) in his last three home games. He's first in the NBA at .710, highest in franchise history. Allen is also on pace to be the third player in NBA history to finish a season averaging 13 or more points and shoot .700 or better. The others are Rudy Gobert and Wilt Chamberlain. He is also on pace to be the first player in NBA history to shoot .700 or better from the field and the free throw line. Contact Bob Finnan at (440) 329-7135 or rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.