Last season, the Cleveland Cavaliers were riddled with inexperience and had a hard time making a deep NBA Playoffs push. This year, the Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland-led squad has learned quite a lot since their last season-ending heartbreak. Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen have gotten to learn how to co-exist better in the Cavs front court as well. Now, those learnings will be put to the test against a young Orlando Magic team with Paolo Banchero leading the charge.

One would think that is a dream matchup for the Cavs. The Magic almost exclusively score at the rim which means that Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen would be swatting shots en route to the second round of the NBA Playoffs. However, Donovan Mitchell does not think that way. He has been in the postseason before and knows that he wants to get close to the Larry O’Brien trophy as much as possible, via Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

“It definitely is something that fuels me. This is what I want to be. This is why I work hard. I take the scrutiny. I take the praise. But in order for me to be considered one of the best to play this game, I’ve got to do something when it matters most. Individual performances are great. But team success has to come with it. That’s where I’m at in my career,” the Cavs superstar declared about his lacking postseason success.

A chip on the Cavs star’s shoulder

Apr 12, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) reacts in the fourth quarter against the Indiana Pacers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

© David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Donovan Mitchell is known for being one of the best players to touch a basketball come the NBA Playoffs. His battle against Jamal Murray brought out the best in him and it made him put up multiple scoring outbursts in just one series. This version of Spida has not been seen much with the Cavs. He hopes that this time around those big numbers turn out to also be big wins.

“By any means necessary, we’ve got to get there. We’ve got to do it. Obviously, you’re judged by conference finals and finals. That’s my mindset. That’s kind of where I’m at and where my head is at,” he said about how his career is viewed at the moment.

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So, what’s his goal for the Cavs moving forward? Is it just to beat the Magic or is there something more that he aspires to snag? Well, it looks like he wants to get all the marbles this time around.

“First round, second round is cool. I’m taking it one round at a time. But my goal is to make the conference finals and get to the NBA Finals, you know what I mean? That’s what I’m judged on,” Mitchell proclaimed.

The Cavs finished the season with 48 wins which is good for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. However, they only won four out of their last 10 regular season games which means they don’t have as much momentum as they would hope. But, since they match up against Paolo Banchero’s Magic fairly well, they might just make do with Mitchell’s promise of bringing glory home to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.