Pacers’ Rick Carlisle pinpoints 1 key to slowing down Donovan Mitchell after Game 3

After watching his team go down 2-0 on home court, Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers struck back like the Galactic Empire in Game 3, ripping off a 21-point lead heading into the half while maintaining that advantage on the way to a 126-104 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Mitchell, to his credit, has never struggled at any point during this series, with the Utah Jazz draftee averaging 41 points per game over the first three games of the series, but in Game 3, he really turned things on, leading all players in points on the way to a 22 point victory.

Asked after the game what he could do to stop the bleeding and maybe limit Mitchell’s dominance moving forward, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle broke down No. 45’s strong game and what his team can do to limit his effectiveness moving forward.

“Yeah, I mean, he’s a great player; we’ve got to make it harder on him. I don’t know what else to tell you. He’s opportunistic; he’s been living at the free-throw line,” Carlisle said. “We gotta keep him off the free throw line. I mean, it’s one thing if he makes difficult shots over a hand; it’s another thing if we march him to the free throw line and give him and-1s.”

While the idea of slowing down Donovan Mitchell is hard to imagine, as he’s been on an absolute tear over the past few games, giving him free points at the line certainly makes his life easier, which isn’t what the Pacers want to do moving forward. No, if Indiana is committed to finding a way to slow down one of the hottest players in the NBA right now, they will need to make Mitchell earn his points the hard way, by contesting every spot while playing good, physical, but clean defense every minute he is on the court.