Like the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers and their fanbase, Donovan Mitchell is ecstatic to see the team make the playoffs for the first time since the LeBron James era ended. However, the veteran guard emphasized that the team shouldn’t forget about their goal while celebrating the epic milestone.
With the Cavs’ Sunday win against the Houston Rockets, they have officially secured a playoff berth. It is actually the first time the team has made the playoffs without LeBron since 1998–when James still wasn’t in the NBA. Now, they are guaranteed to finish within the Top 5 seed and could realistically go as high as the third seed, with the Philadelphia 76ers just two games ahead.
Mitchell, for his part, wants the Cavs to celebrate the victory. However, he made sure to remind the team that their job is far from over. Moving forward, making the playoffs is the expectation on them, and they should always strive to improve from that.
“You want to appreciate every step along the way and it’s definitely a blessing. I don’t want to downplay the moment. But in the same token, and I told the guys in there, this is what you come to expect. You made your first one, appreciate it, enjoy it, celebrate it for the city, for the organization, for your individual guys who have made it, but at the same token, three seed is in play. That’s the goal. That’s the focus,” Mitchell shared, per Cleveland.com.
The Cavs have a one day off before returning to action on Tuesday. With that said, Donovan Mitchell and co. can certainly have fun while they wait for their next match.
However, as the superstar guard said, they should be mentally ready to get back to competing when NBA action resumes.