For the first time since the team officially announced Darius Garland's right toe sprain, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell addressed his backcourt partner's ill-timed setback and how the team will have to respond.
“It's tough, man, to be in and out and continue to work,” Mitchell said after the team's 136-104 blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. “But this is where the mental [challenge shows]. You've got to dig deep. I talked to him the other day and said, ‘Just keep plugging. Keep going.' You feel for him as a brother, as a teammate. He'll be back, and he'll be back stronger than ever. Just keep going.”
The Cavs released a statement on the severity of Garland's injury on Sunday afternoon, sharing that he'll be reevaluated in 7-to-10 days. Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson relayed that, until then, he'll get intense water treatment. The next step is getting back on the court.
“I feel like we dodged a bullet, right? That's how I look at it,” Atkinson said in his pregame press conference. “Not ideal, obviously, but could be a lot worse.”
“For us as a group, unfortunately, we've been in this position before, like with the jaw,” Mitchell added. “He's had some freak injuries. So for us, we just have to be ready as a group to carry that [responsibility] because he's not out there. You lose a guy who's so dynamic, so we've got to do it collectively as a group and lock in.”
Before Garland rolled his right great toe last Wednesday, the Cavs had the third-best offense in the NBA over the last two weeks.
Both Mitchell and Atkinson agree that the blueprint without him will be similar to the one Cleveland used to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers last Friday. Jaylon Tyson starred with a career night, Craig Porter Jr. assisted on 11 makes, and Tyrese Proctor stepped up to the plate, while all of them looked for ways to involve Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
“I'm not saying JT has to go for 40 — that'd be great — but I think understanding that it's like, ‘Hey, JA and Evan are open down low.' That's the way we create our paint touches,” Mitchell said. “The other night, it was getting to the paint; Craig and Jaylon getting in there, Qwan [Tomlin], Dre [Hunter], and Zo [Ball]. All of us just trying to find ways to get in there and just create and do it as a collective.”
Atkinson feels the Cavs have to shift back to what they've done all year when Garland hasn't played.
“We obviously need ball-handling and our ball-handlers to help Don,” Atkinson said. “Probably play a lot of the young guys. TP will get another shot, played well in Philly. So we've just got to do it by committee. We just can't watch Don play with the ball. We're gonna have to have multiple guys be more aggressive.
“I thought there was a stretch there in Philly where we just were watching Don play and tried to self-correct in the game, telling Don, especially when there's immense pressure, these other guys have got to find a way to get to the rim. We've got to find a way to get it to the other side.”
In Cleveland's second game without Garland as its offensive engine, the Thunder forced 21 turnovers that cost the group 23 points. The wine and gold didn't have a single 20-point scorer in the stat sheet, and they collectively shot a ghastly 37.4% and 8-of-35 from deep.
Conversely, the Cavs turned OKC over 13 times but only had eight points off of those, indicative of “troubling” decision-making.
“You're gonna have that with young guys, playing some young guys that aren't used to that role, especially against the No. 1 defensive team in the league. So there's context to that,” Atkinson said postgame. “But yeah, we're gonna have to find a way to help [Mitchell]. I still think it's a case where he's got to keep trusting his guys, keep trusting your teammates. They'll make plays; we've just got to do it more consistently.”
The team has had difficulty maintaining possession of the basketball due to poor awareness and judgment. ClutchPoints asked Atkinson about this odd trend of the Cavs forcing turnovers only to give it right back to the other team within seconds.
“Oh gosh, that is not a good thing,” Atkinson said. “It was weird, some of the passes we made [Monday]. I did feel like in the first half, a lot of the time, we were trying to force-feed Donovan, and they've got a guy right next to him. And it's like, other guys have got to bring it up sometimes, right? If you keep force-feeding him, it's gonna slow us down, and the other team's gonna cause turnovers.
“Normally, when you force a turnover, you should be able to go and get a good shot. That's usually how it works. I'm glad you brought that up; it does seem like it happens.”
The Thunder are their own animal and the defending league champions for a reason, but Cleveland's got to be smarter with the rock if it's going to continue the momentum that's been building for a couple of weeks. Keep looking to reward the bigs, stop trying to fit passes into tight windows, and make the simple plays.
