The season ended with frustration, accountability and blunt self-reflection for Donovan Mitchell after the Cleveland Cavaliers were swept by the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals.
Following Cleveland’s 130-93 loss Monday night at Rocket Arena, the All-Star guard repeatedly pointed inward, saying the Cavaliers’ downfall began before the conference finals even started.
Mitchell scored 31 points in Game 4, but Cleveland was overwhelmed as New York dominated second-chance points (32-5), fast-break scoring (33-9) and completed a four-game sweep to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. The Cavaliers were swept in a playoff series for the first time since the 2018 NBA Finals.
Rather than focus solely on the Knicks’ dominance, Mitchell pointed to Cleveland’s seven-game first-round win over the Toronto Raptors and seven-game semifinal victory against the Detroit Pistons as the turning point.
“I can’t tell you yes, but we did this to ourselves, and that’s not an excuse,” Mitchell added when discussing fatigue. “They’re a hungry team. They beat us, swept us, so I don’t want to diminish that. But we didn’t give ourselves a chance.”
The Cavaliers had chances to shorten both earlier rounds, including missed opportunities to close out Toronto in six games and Detroit in Game 6 before winning Game 7. Mitchell framed those missed opportunities as a lesson in postseason urgency.
“I told them guys in the locker room, now we know for a lot of us, we’ve never been here,” he said. “You can’t play with your food. We had opportunity to close both series and give ourselves some rest.”
Mitchell repeatedly returned to Game 1 of the conference finals, when Cleveland lost after blowing a 22-point fourth-quarter lead at Madison Square Garden.
“You got to be able to give yourself a chance,” Mitchell said. “And then you go to this series and we are up 22 and you lose. Like that’s where my head is at. I mean, yeah, I made the conference finals. Woohoo. But we had an opportunity.”
The six-time All-Star rejected the idea that reaching his first conference finals alone should define success.
“Yeah and no,” Mitchell said when asked whether the season was successful. “The ultimate goal is a championship. So in that perspective, we failed.”
Still, Mitchell emphasized growth after Cleveland recovered from a 17-16 start to finish 52-30 and reach the East finals for the franchise’s first appearance since 2018. He highlighted contributions from younger players including Tyrese Proctor, Jaylon Tyson, Craig Porter Jr. and Nae’Qwan Tomlin for helping stabilize the roster through injuries.
Mitchell also shut down speculation about his future, reiterating his commitment to Cleveland after signing an extension.
“I’ve said the same thing. I love it here. I don’t know how else to say it,” Mitchell said. “We have unfinished business.”
He apologized to fans for the sweep while promising a response next season.
“I’m sorry for the city of Cleveland for it to be like this in a sweep. That’s ass,” Mitchell said. “But I told y’all last year and I tell you again, we’ll be back and we’ll be ready and we’ll be hungry. We’ll be locked in.”
