Donovan Mitchell: Cavs need to ‘double down’ after playoff disappointment

The Cavaliers have changed some pieces. Donovan Mitchell doesn’t think they need to change who they are.

Speaking Wednesday after Cleveland’s first training-camp practice in Spain, Mitchell said the Cavs need to “double down on the habits” that carried them to the Eastern Conference finals last season, according to Cleveland 19

Getting there was progress. Losing to the Knicks once they arrived wasn’t the ending anyone in Cleveland wanted. Now comes the next attempt.

The Cavs return their core of Mitchell, James Harden, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, with Peyton Watson expected to take on a significant role after arriving from Denver. Mario Hezonja is among the other notable additions.

The Cavs also spent considerably more time together this offseason than in previous years. Mitchell said at media day that this was probably the most time he’s spent around teammates during an offseason in his career, with players gathering for workouts and other events long before camp opened.

That may explain why the Cavs haven’t talked much about reinventing themselves. They won 60 games last season and reached the conference finals. The idea now is to take what worked, improve what didn’t and see whether the same basic formula can survive another couple rounds in May.

The first work toward that goal began Wednesday, a long way from Cleveland. Spain isn’t a bad place to start.