Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell on three-game skid: ‘This is what makes the season fun’

Well, the Cavaliers aren’t bored anymore.

That’s because they’ve followed a 16-game winning streak with a three-game slide. But if you think they’re panicked … then you probably need a lesson in NBA regular-season perspective.

For starters, the Cavs rested All-Star power forward Evan Mobley in Sunday’s loss to the Orlando Magic, the first of the three defeats.

Then, in Wednesday’s road loss to the Sacramento Kings, they sat All-Star point guard Darius Garland. So health is the priority right now, as the playoffs are less than a month away.

The Cavs (56-13) still boast the best record in the Eastern Conference. They also are a mere game behind the Oklahoma City Thunder (57-12) for the best in the entire NBA.

So, concern for the Cavaliers? Try again.

“I’m trying to refrain from using the word happy,” All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell said of the slide, via Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. 

Mitchell knows these are the dog days of the season for championship contenders. He knows the Cavs’ opponents are treating games against the Cavs as the seventh game of the Finals. (Sacramento’s social media team made such a big deal about beating Cleveland, for instance, you’d have thought the Kings had just overcome a 3-1 Finals deficit.)

For the Cavs, though, it’s all part of the process. There are wins, and there are lessons.

“I’m kind of a sicko, so I enjoy this,” Mitchell said. “This is what makes the season fun –going through adversity.”

It’s also not the first time the Cavs have lost three in a row. When it happened in January, they responded by winning 19 of 20. That included overcoming a 25-3 deficit on the road against the defending champion Boston Celtics.

So, yeah. This is hardly a big deal in the minds of the Cavaliers. But they also know that they can’t just turn it on whenever they want and still win. They have some things to clean up.

“The sky is not falling. But we have some (expletive) to figure out,” Mitchell said. “This is part of it. We have to be better. That’s no lie. I feel like this is something that is really going to help us going forward. You don’t grow without going through things.”

Right now, the Cavs are indeed going through something. But it’s very minor in the big scheme of things.

“I’m not ever going to be happy that we are losing a game. But these are lessons you want to have — now,” Mitchell said. “When the time comes and we’re in Boston, New York, Milwaukee, Indiana, wherever we are at, and our backs are against the wall, you remember Sacramento, the Clippers or Orlando at home. You have something that is fresh on your brain.

“I think when you have had the success that we have had it’s human nature at some point to have a little slippage. We have had slippage throughout the season. But we have covered it up with wins. Fortunately, we have built a cushion so we’re not in certain situations as some other teams.”