Donovan Mitchell wasn’t happy with his lack of trips to the line after having just two free-throw attempts in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Game 1 loss to the Detroit Pistons.
“I’m just not getting the calls,” Mitchell said afterward. “I don’t know why. I don’t flop, maybe that’s why. … It’s frustrating a little bit because I’m such a dynamic driver.”
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Mitchell is a dynamic driver, or at least, he has been. For various reasons, he hasn’t been able to showcase that this postseason.
Through eight playoff games, Mitchell is taking just 22% of his shots in the restricted area (40th percentile). For comparison, he attempted 24% of his shots there in the regular season (54th percentile) and 30% there last postseason (74th percentile).
That’s a dramatic drop, and one we saw come into play in Game 1 against Detroit.
Nine of Mitchell’s 19 shots came in the paint, but only one was in the restricted area.
Here’s a look at eight of his nine shot attempts in the paint (his field goal three minutes into the game isn’t available on nba.com). In six of the eight attempts below, you’ll notice that he either shies away from contact or quickly gets the shot up before contact can be made with defender. That’s why most of these come in the five to 10-foot range, and not at the rim itself.
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You can get to the line without getting to the rim. James Harden did an excellent job of this in Game 1 as he had nine free-throw attempts. But you still have to be intentional about how you attack for that to happen. Harden, even though he’s lost a step, isn’t afraid to initiate contact and be the aggressor. That, more than anything, is why he’s consistently gotten to the line throughout his career.
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Not getting to the rim or basket is also reflective of the Cavs’ lack of spacing overall. Cleveland’s defense needs the trio of Dean Wade, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen (or at least Wade and Allen) to be passable. Having two or three players that teams are okay with ignoring on the perimeter clogs driving lanes and leads to turnover issues.
At the same time, there’s no getting around that in matchups against wing-heavy teams. They need their oversized frontcourt out there to be competitive. The Cavs are just gambling that their star backcourt can figure things out enough offensively. So far, they haven’t been able to, at least not consistently.
This has all resulted in what has been a disappointing postseason run for Mitchell.
The scoring hasn’t been there in either volume or efficiency. He currently has his second-lowest points per game in his playoff career (23.1) on his second-lowest efficiency since coming to Cleveland (49.5 effective field-goal percentage).
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That has laid bare some of the other flaws in his game. If Mitchell isn’t scoring, his lack of ability as a rebounder, defender, or playmaker means he’s simply not positively impacting winning. As a result, the Cavs have been -3.2 points per 100 possessions better in the playoffs when he’s off the court compared to when he’s on. That’s the complete opposite of what we’ve seen from Mitchell since his time in Cleveland.
There are many reasons why the Cavs went seven games against a less talented Toronto Raptors team and dropped Game 1 against Detroit. However, none more than the fact that Mitchell can’t get to the basket and, by extension, the line like we’ve come to expect. If he’s not doing that, the scoring isn’t going to be at the volume or efficiency this team needs, even if these issues aren’t entirely his fault.
If Mitchell or the team can’t figure out how to get him easy looks inside, the offseason will be here far too early for the Cavs. This team can’t survive Mitchell not playing as an All-NBA level scorer.
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