Story by
Don’t just blame Cavs’ James Harden – Donovan Mitchell has been a clutch disaster in playoffs
- Story by
- Don’t just blame Cavs’ James Harden – Donovan Mitchell has been a clutch disaster in playoffs
Don't just blame Cavs' James Harden – Donovan Mitchell has been a clutch disaster in playoffs appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Cleveland Cavaliers have made things tough on themselves through the postseason, but they still find a way to overcome. They were not able to overcome to start their series against the New York Knicks , as they had a huge lead in the fourth quarter and blew it, losing in overtime. Their clutch play was not at its best, and it hasn't been good for the Cavs most of the playoffs.
Advertisement
James Harden usually gets most of the blame, and though he deserves it, he's not the only one who needs the criticism. Donovan Mitchell has surprisingly been worse than Harden, and the stats show that . Harden is shooting 6-for-17 in the clutch, while Mitchell is shooting 5-for-23.
When you look at the game, it doesn't look good, but looking at the stats doesn't make it any better.
It's obvious that both players have been figuring out how to play with each other throughout this postseason, but there has to be a better way for them to get going when the game gets tight. On the other hand, they shouldn't have lost the game being up by as much as 22 points in the fourth.
"Should've won the game," Mitchell said after the game. "Not gonna put it on [complacency or fatigue]. Even if there was complacency, we're up 22 with God knows how much time – 8 minutes? We gotta win the game. We didn't."
Advertisement
Luckily for the Cavs, it's the first to four, and they've shown how to bounce back when their back is against the wall. The hope is that a loss like that doesn't carry over into the rest of the series, and that can affect how they play moving forward.
They'll have to set the tone as they did for the first three quarters of the game, and make sure they continue to keep that intensity to close it out.
Related: Why Cavs can defy odds and still beat Knicks despite 22-point Game 1 meltdown
Related: Cavaliers vs. Knicks Game 2 Results According to NBA 2K26
