Dribbles: Donovan Mitchell Says Cavs Must ‘Find a Way’ to Get on Track

More dribbles on the Cavaliers, who have another game against the Knicks on Wednesday, this time in New York.

1. Yes, I already wrote about last night’s game, which you can read here. But in the NBA, last night is often ancient history.

2. As I said there, the Cavs aren’t getting too worked up over these losses, given that they’re missing so many key players (Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, Ty Jerome and Caris LeVert). They’re disappointed, but they understand the reality of the situation.

3. No, I don’t know if any of them are playing on Wednesday. I doubt it. Either way, we aren’t likely to find out until close to tipoff (7:30 p.m. EST).

4. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff has said the Cavs won’t be rushing players back and risk further injury. So it probably wouldn’t hurt to hold those in pain out another game. The Cavs will take off Thursday before beginning the In-Season Tournament at Indiana on Friday.

5. We can expect more of the same on Wednesday — the Knicks blitzing and trying to take the ball out of the hands of Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley. Still, the Cavs will need Mobley to be more aggressive offensively.

6. Mitchell on the state of things: “It’s tough when you’re missing a bunch of guys, but at the end of the day, you always want to go out there and get a win. But you can’t really dwell too much on this one. As much as it sucks to lose, you want to go out there and get one tomorrow.”

7. Like I said, in the NBA, there’s always another game.

8. More Mitchell: “It’s definitely tough. I’m never one to create excuses … We’ve got to find a way to execute. Obviously we’re missing some shots, missing some guys and whatnot. You have to find a way as a group.”

9. As I wrote in Tuesday night’s dribbles, at least the Cavs are getting a look at rookies Emoni Bates and Craig Porter Jr. And at least those players are gaining some valuable minutes. It’s not ideal at this time of season, but it can’t hurt having your first-year players in these situations so early in the season.

10. Bates echoed his coach by saying things might be different if the Cavs start making some outside shots. “We get the shots we want, so I feel like those shots are going to fall as we start getting more comfortable as a group,” Bates said. “It takes time for everybody to start jelling, but when everybody comes together I feel like everything’s going to be smooth.”

11. Mitchell is from New York and the talk about him eventually leaving for the Knicks just won’t go away. But NBA players tend to think about the task at hand during the season. “You always look forward to playing at home,” he said. “We started the year playing in Brooklyn. (Wednesday is) going to be no different, but we’re 1-3. We need to win. So that’s the mindset.”