Donovan Mitchell’s 29 points were not enough for the Cleveland Cavaliers to beat the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.
Mitchell did not receive much offensive help from his teammates, as the Cavaliers were restricted to just 94.
Meanwhile, the Warriors scored 99 without their three best players: Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green.
It will go down as an embarrassing defeat for the Cavs, and unsurprisingly, Mitchell was visibly frustrated post-game.
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Donovan Mitchell reacts to Cavaliers defeat vs Warriors
Mitchell is having the best season of his NBA career, averaging over 30 points per game, and deserves to be in the MVP race.
He also has a strong supporting cast, including All-Star teammates Darius Garland and Evan Mobley.
But despite an excellent roster, the Cavaliers are only 14-11 and eighth in the Eastern Conference standings.
Kenny Atkinson’s team has lost several games they were expected to win, including their most recent defeat.
Mitchell addressed the Cavaliers’ big problem with inconsistency after the Warriors game on Saturday.
“We’re gonna figure it out one day,” he said, via CavsRoundtable. “We can’t keep getting into this position. It shouldn’t come down to it.
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“All due respect and credit to them. Pat Spencer, [Quinten] Post, and all of those guys. The consistent theme is that when we get down, there’s no flipping the switch.
“Until there is a change in that, we’re going to keep getting into these positions where sometimes we do, and sometimes we don’t. We have to fix it.”
He then emphasized how offensive performances can fluctuate throughout the season, but there is no excuse for bad defense.
“I think communication and talking defensively are huge,” Mitchell added. “Obviously, we’re missing shots. That happens.
“We’re going to miss shots. We’re not gonna shoot 23% from 3 and 34% from the field all year.
“We’re too talented for that, but defensively, we need to be better. We can’t let that affect what we’ve got going on.“
Kenny Atkinson recognizes Donovan Mitchell needed more help
Kenny Atkinson, who is coming under increasing pressure from Cavaliers fans, expects more from his players.
He admitted that Mitchell did not receive enough support from his teammates against the Warriors.
“We needed someone to step up, and we didn’t have that tonight,” Atkinson expressed, via YouTube. “No one really stepped up. He was kind of solo out there.”
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Like Mitchell, Atkinson also wants to see better defense, but he made it known that effort was not the issue.
“When you’re not making shots like that, you’ve got to get more stops… we had a fair amount of breakdowns… they weren’t effort things,” he continued. “They were more like cognitive mishaps.”
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