'We Didn’t Give Ourselves a Chance': Donovan Mitchell Reflects on Cavs’ Failures That Led to Sweep

Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers are going home without a win in the Eastern Conference Finals series against the New York Knicks. The Cavaliers appeared to run out of energy over the final three games.

Mitchell refused to let his team rely on those excuses. The Cavaliers played 18 games throughout the playoffs, more than any team until Monday. When asked if the Cavs were too tired to maintain high energy in the series against the Knicks, Mitchell answered that he and his team brought it upon themselves.

“I mean, we did this to ourselves, and that’s not an excuse,” he told reporters. “[Knicks] are a hungry team. They beat us. They beat us, swept us. So I don’t want to diminish that, but we didn’t give ourselves a chance because we didn’t handle business.”

Analysts did not expect the Cavaliers to advance beyond the first round, especially before facing the Detroit Pistons. However, they beat the top team in the East despite going down 0-2 in the series.

But it can’t be denied that the Cavs could have taken care of business in the first round against the Toronto Raptors and saved some energy.

“And it’s our fault. Like, we did that to ourselves. And that puts you in a tough position against a team that’s not only been to the conference finals, knows what that takes, but also has the rest,” Mitchell said.

Donovan Mitchell aims higher with the current Cavaliers roster

This is the farthest the Cavaliers have reached in the playoffs since LeBron James left for the Los Angeles Lakers. They missed the playoffs for the next four seasons, and since the 2023-24 season, they have been in the playoffs, but never moved beyond the semifinal round. 

Despite the sweep, Mitchell remains optimistic about Cleveland’s future.

During the exit interview, he told reporters that more than anything, this season was a learning lesson for him and his team.

“I have no doubt that this group can get there,” he said. “I’ve said that all year. I think the biggest thing is you just use it as a learning lesson. It’s a tough learning lesson.

“And this team that we just faced had to go through this. Maybe not this way, right, but they’ve been together, they’ve been in core group and had to go through this tough experience. So this is, it’s our turn.”

The Cavaliers have one of the deepest rosters in the league, especially since they added James Harden in February. They have to find their roles and identity during the offseason, perhaps add LeBron James if they can, to make it a championship team.