What is the main challenge for Mitchell with Cavs?
The Cavs, who finished 2021-22 in playoff contention with a 44-38 record, will be looking to establish themselves as one of the best in the Eastern Conference this season.
To that end, Cleveland will now have three All-Stars in Mitchell, Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen. In addition, a future star in Evan Mobley and a bench led by Ricky Rubio, Kevin Love and Caris LeVert.
Will they have enough to be one of the powers of the East? Is Mitchell the leader they so desperately needed?
- What is Mitchell’s main challenge this season?
To be the leader the Cavaliers need. Although the Ohio Cavaliers have some important players whose future in the NBA looks promising, since LeBron James moved to Los Angeles, the franchise started a major rebuilding process by integrating young players.
However, the leadership of an element that is ‘on point’ was a pending task for the management. The former Jazz point guard has the weight to tip the scales in his team’s favor. He is a player of proven quality; a three-time All-Star, NBA All-Rookie First Team honoree, with few injuries and averaging 23 points a night.
The advantage Mitchell will have is that he joins an established team that knows what it plays, so his adaptation will be easier and it will be up to him to start taking that leadership role he had in the Jazz. Along with Garland, Isaac Okoro, Mobley and Allen, he will be able to form a quintet that will catapult the Cavs into the top six seeds in the Eastern Conference.
- A key number or statistic for Mitchell this season.
A sixth consecutive campaign recording at least 20 points per game. He has five straight and this is what he was brought in for. He is only one of six guards to do so in NBA history, the most recent being Allen Iverson, according to ESPN Data. Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson also did it.
Adds Stats & Info, Mitchell finished the 2021-22 season with 232 three-pointers, the most in Jazz history. He was the 13th overall pick in 2017, and has arguably been the best and most consistent player in that class.
Mitchell is one of seven players since the three-point line was introduced in 1979-80 to score at least 8,000 points and dish out 1,500 assists in his first five contests.
The Cavs are looking to make the playoffs without James for the first time since 1997-98. Mitchell averages 28.3 points in playoffs, which ranks seventh among players with 25-plus all-time games, ESPN Data maintains. He is also one of seven players to record multiple 50-point games in the postseason.
Numbers and Mitchell get along great…. And that’s why the Cavs had such a hard time acquiring him from the Jazz.
- Real or not: Is Mitchell the leader the Cavs need?
That’s the big question, isn’t it? It’s real that the Cavaliers needed an established star to lead their young and promising roster, but is Mitchell the one? No doubt the former Jazz All-Star has the talent and personality to be.
However, there are questions about that because of Utah’s failures in the playoffs with him as the leader, and the alleged lack of harmony that existed in the dressing room. So, I’ll say real, based mostly on the bet on Mitchell being more mature and inspired by a new challenge that would put him on the brink of superstardom if he delivers.
