Cleveland Cavs All-Star Donovan Mitchell watched the Boston Celtics come up short in the Eastern Conference Finals three times in four years before making their first NBA Finals appearance since 2010. Amidst his fifth season in Cleveland, Mitchell sees parallels in his team’s continuous growth, as the Cavs look to get over the hump in 2025-26.
Mitchell discussed the long process a team undergoes, such as the Celtics did despite high expectations in an interview with RG.org’s DJ Siddiqi.
“When you look at our season, if you would just show everybody what our season looked like, you would think that we made it to the Finals,” Mitchell said. “Because of your expectations, this is what we did. But you don’t realize that there’s another level. You have to go through these things.”
After winning 64 games in the regular season for the best record in the Eastern Conference, the Cavs were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs. It makes Mitchell think about the handful of times the Celtics, despite high expectations, came up short before reaching the NBA Finals.
“They made it to the Conference Finals, but it took them seven years to win. You have to go through these trials and tribulations,” Mitchell adds. “The one thing I feel like we learned as a group is you can be physically ready, you can be emotionally ready, but mentally there’s another step you have to push through.”
The Cavs are 9-5, which is the third-best record in the Eastern Conference.
Donovan Mitchell keeps it 100 about panic over Cavs’ No. 1 seed
David Richard-Imagn Images
Cavs All-Star Donovan Mitchell is focused on process over results despite injuries to his team’s key players. Mitchell wants to make sure everyone’s on the same page and hopes it results into a No. 1 seed for the Cavs, he said, in an interview with Video Gamer.
“Would we love to do both? 1,000%,” said Mitchell. “I’m not going to sit here and say we wouldn’t want to be the number one seed. At the same token, we saw last year that you can do all the things, but if you’re not ready when that time goes and if you’re not necessarily healthy, it doesn’t really matter what you’ve done during the regular season. ”
Mitchell also spoke on his mindset for what happens if the Cavs don’t secure it.
“Would I love to be the No. 1 seed? Sure. But if we’re not, am I going to be panicking? No. As long as we’re playing our best basketball at the right time, that’s all that really matters,” Mitchell added.
The Cavs will host the Bucks on Monday.
