BOSTON — Donovan Mitchell said it twice following the Cavs’ series-clinching win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday. Once to his teammates in the celebratory locker room and then again during his postgame podium session.
“When they traded for me, it wasn’t just to win a first-round series,” Mitchell explained Sunday afternoon.
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Cleveland has taken that step. Finally. The first playoff series win without LeBron James since 1993, Sunday represented a milestone moment for the franchise, advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals just six years after another post-LeBron rebuild began. The Cavs have come a long way in a short time.
It wasn’t easy. There were slipups and questionable roster-related maneuvers. Even some dark times. Last year’s first-round flameout against the Knicks no longer matters. Who cares if the tussle with Orlando was tougher than many predicted? Who cares if the Cavs were pounded on the boards, shot 30 fewer free throws, committed more turnovers and were actually outscored in the series?
It’s all led them here — a matchup with the 64-win Boston Celtics, the perceived title favorites and perhaps the most complete group since the dynastic Golden State Warriors.
And that’s where it will end.
Heading into this series with Boston, there was a moment to exhale. The suffocating pressure was finally lifted. The expectations are different. The postmortem chatter probably will be also. Cleveland demanded a first-round series win — a marker that rightfully shows organizational progress. The Cavs were the better team in round one. They were favored. They were supposed to win.
Not this time. Just don’t try telling Mitchell that.
“We know who we are. We are team that is a contender,” Mitchell said. “For us coming into Boston, I’m pretty sure everybody thinks they’re going to come in and kick our a--. Continue to stay level-headed throughout, not listen to, well, y’all, and just be who we are.”
It’s a tone-setting aura of confidence this team needs from its leader. But there’s a reason why so many see this ending quickly, with the Celtics strolling back to the conference finals.
Boston isn’t Orlando. TD Garden isn’t Kia Center. Those young, wide-eyed Magic kids have been replaced by playoff-lifers — the most experience of any East team left. Those Magic offensive woes that played a part in the Cavs rallying from an 18-point deficit in the season-saving Game 7 won’t be as prevalent against the skilled, talented, high-octane Celtics, who boasted the league’s best offense during the regular season and rank fourth through round one.
Home-court advantage is no longer on the Cavs’ side either. They have yet to win a road game in the J.B. Bickerstaff era. This time, it’s a requirement. The Celtics, meanwhile, were 37-4 inside the raucous Garden during the regular season.
The many reasons for confidently picking the Cavs to advance past the Magic have vanished, including their ultimate trump card. In a second-round series that will feature two of the league’s brightest stars, Mitchell, who was sublime in the final two games of round one, is no longer the easy, obvious answer to the question of which player is best in the series.
It could be Mitchell. Or it could be MVP candidate Jayson Tatum, All-Star swingman Jaylen Brown, NBA champion Jrue Holiday or Derrick White, who tormented the Heat.
Cleveland’s poor shooting (28.9% from 3-point range against Orlando) won’t fly against the Celtics, who made more triples than any other team in the regular season and carried over that hoist-happy identity to the playoffs — the kind of style that could lead to variance. The only game the Heat took in round one featured a 23-triple eruption. Can the Cavs have one of those nights?
The shaky individual efforts from the others can’t continue either.
Darius Garland and Caris LeVert go into the spotlight against a switch-heavy defense. Are they ready to consistently provide Mitchell the support he needs? How about youngster Evan Mobley, who was a game-wrecker on defense but also showed plenty of offensive limitations in the seven-game battle with Orlando. For the Celtics, Tatum, Brown and White are all averaging at least 20 points in the postseason. Can the Cavs, with the second-worst offense in the playoffs, find enough at that end of the floor now that they don’t have to deal with Orlando’s unique length, size and athleticism?
This won’t be a rock fight like last round. Gotta be able to score.
Lineup and substitution patterns need to be better and timelier. Offensive droughts could be a death knell. Jarrett Allen’s health looms.
In excruciating pain because of a bruised rib that is making it hard for him to raise his arms, Allen missed the final three games of the first round and is listed as questionable for Game 1 in Boston Tuesday night.
The status of versatile forward Dean Wade, the hero of Cleveland’s lone regular-season triumph over Boston, is uncertain while he continues to recover from a sprained knee.
The Celtics, who open this matchup with the shortest odds to win a series in the conference semis or beyond since 2017, have their own injury to navigate, with starting center Kristaps Porzingis likely out for the series due to a calf strain. While that could help bring these teams a little bit closer, the Cavs need more than just that to pull the upset.
“I feel like there’s a rep about us or whatever,” Mitchell said Sunday. “We’re inconsistent or whatever. At the end of the day, we’re gonna be solid. We’re gonna do our job. Obviously, it’s not (always) going to be pretty. I’ve said this all year. This is part of a growth process, to see us grow up in a series.
“We’re a team that can hang with the best and be one of the best. I firmly believe that. So y’all can make the takes y’all wanna make about who we are. We know who we are.”
At least, they do. Many others are still trying to figure it out. Myself included.
This is the ninth postseason meeting between the two franchises. The series is tied at four wins apiece. Call it the rubber match.
LeBron isn’t walking onto that parquet.
Celtics in 5.
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