CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers couldn’t close the door on the Detroit Pistons, and now a caravan of storylines will all make their way to Detroit at the same time.
And Donovan Mitchell might be driving that narrative-fueled bus.
The Cavs dropped Game 6, 115-94, to even the series 3-3 and set up a win-or-go-home Game 7 in Detroit. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. May 17.
The Cavs and Pistons are two franchises meeting at a crossroads, with one game now dictating very different paths.
It’s J.B. Bickerstaff, facing the team that fired him, against Kenny Atkinson, who was specifically brought in to achieve the kind of playoff success that his predecessor could not in Cleveland. The most nervous person in the building might be Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman, the architect that sent both these franchises on their current collision course with the series of coaching decisions that now have them standing in each other’s way.
Then there’s James Harden, who has appeared in 17 playoffs without a championship ring, and all the narratives that have followed him for most of his career.
But perhaps nobody has as much on the line as Mitchell, who is entering a heavyweight bout with his own narrative. It’s the one about him not being able to make it past the second around in nine years in the NBA. And it’s the one now staring him in the face as the Cavs prepare for Game 7.
Donovan Mitchell stats in NBA playoffs
Perhaps the term “legacy game” gets thrown around too much these days. But for Mitchell, yet another defeat before the conference finals would add some unwanted fuel to that fire. On the flip side, a win in Detroit, which would in turn send the Cavs directly to New York, would represent a massive breakthrough and the most notable line on Mitchell’s NBA resume.
It hasn’t helped that after going nuclear with a 39-point second half in Game 4 to tie the series, Mitchell has struggled shooting the ball. He was just 1-for-8 from 3-point range in Game 5 (though he did hit a huge 3 in overtime) and then finished Game 6 just 6-for-20 from the field.
“I can’t dwell on it,” Mitchell said. “I missed shots tonight. Do I think some of them were tougher shots? I could have gotten better [shot selection]? Sure. I can say that about every game.
“It’s more so the — everything else. We missed an opportunity, but I can’t do nothing, we can’t do anything about it. We got to go out there and win on the road.”
It’s been another difficult path, one made all the more treacherous with the Cavs failing to close out the Pistons in Game 6 at Rocket Arena.
Given the circumstances, this will likely be Mitchell’s biggest professional defeat or triumph to date, with little room for anything in-between.
“I mean, everything you want is on the other side of hard,” Mitchell said. “Nothing comes easy. You know what I mean? That’s kind of how you have to look at it. We can’t sit here and dwell on this and carry that into Sunday. What’s that going to do for us?
“So, understand we had an opportunity. We missed it. We have another opportunity on Sunday. That’s the mindset.”
Following this Game 7, the Cavs will either travel to New York with a trip to the NBA finals on the line or return home to Cleveland with a longer-than-wanted summer awaiting them. There’s a good chance Mitchell will be a major part of that path one way or another, and all of it will dictate the narrative that follows him around for another summer.
Ryan Lewis covers the Cavaliers for the Akron Beacon Journal. He can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Donovan Mitchell, Cavs seek massive playoff breakthrough in Game 7
Reporting by Ryan Lewis, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
