{"id":303827,"date":"2025-11-20T20:02:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T20:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/303827\/"},"modified":"2025-11-20T20:02:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T20:02:11","slug":"donovan-mitchell-keeps-a-steady-rhythm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/303827\/","title":{"rendered":"Donovan Mitchell keeps a steady rhythm"},"content":{"rendered":"

At Cavs media day, Donovan Mitchell directly addressed the elephant in the room: the team\u2019s three failed trips to the postseason. Mitchell described the feeling of those trips much like the ghostly pachyderm lurking in the corner \u2014 as a wall.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve run into the same wall three times in a row, so to speak,\u201d Mitchell said<\/a>. \u201cPhysically, you can be there, but mentally, can we continue to push through that?\u201d<\/p>\n

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It was clear Mitchell had thought about the wall a lot \u2014 looming, solid, but with its weak points and spidering cracks \u2014 because he\u2019d reached a point where he\u2019d visualized he and his teammates beating their heads against it \u201cevery day\u201d in order to get through it.<\/p>\n

Cleveland\u2019s start to the season was strange. In their second game, a guy rushed<\/a> onto the court in Brooklyn and up to Mitchell, who, understandably startled, had to jog backwards a few meters until security intervened. The Cavs roster had a revolving door of absences, including Mitchell, from injuries and illness, and a kid (or grown man) called Mitchell washed up as they played against each other in NBA 2K<\/a>. Somewhere in there, Mitchell played his 200th game with the Cavaliers.<\/p>\n

Was this Mitchell\u2019s wall going Nietzschean<\/a>, not just gazing back but responding with some knocks of its own? Maybe, but through those early prods the team responded. As Mitchell watched, he realized something.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter we beat Brooklyn, I was in the locker room and I kind of went off like, This is no different than what we did against Indiana,\u201d he tells SB Nation, recalling last season\u2019s playoffs. \u201cWe blew the lead, we were up in Game 2, we went to Indiana 1-1 and ended up blowing the lead, right? Okay, so what do we do? We\u2019ll come back with Milwaukee and Detroit and handle our business.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sitting at home in Cleveland in a pool of sunlight so thick it looks liquid, Mitchell talks through the games that followed. There was a loss in Toronto (\u201cWe defend our behinds off but can\u2019t make a shot\u201d), then a win in Atlanta (\u201cWe played great for 46 minutes\u201d), and then he lands on the lesson those early season tests stressed: \u201cEvery game is a different type of playoff situation, to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal is to win a championship \u2014 yes. But if you allow it to plague you mentally, there\u2019s no development,\u201d he says. \u201cObviously, you want to learn those through wins and not losses, but the losses do teach you things so when it comes to April you\u2019re ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

A silver lining to the carousel of availability the Cavs have faced has also been an early-season spotlight on their new players. Mitchell praises Larry Nance Jr. (simultaneously a Cleveland veteran and new addition) and Thomas Bryant. He shouts out Lonzo Ball for doing much more than \u201cwe typically would ask him to if he was healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The list, and his praise, goes on.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSo now it\u2019s like, Hey young guys \u2014 who have been phenomenal, Craig Porter, Tyrese Proctor, Jaylon Tyson have been phenomenal \u2014 we\u2019re asking you to take another step. Because we need to know that you guys will be there come playoff time in the event that, knock on wood, any injuries happen, we have the depth.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Mitchell is in one of the more unique positions in the league. After five years in Utah as part of a perennially celebrated duo, on a competitive team that made the playoffs every season, and after Rudy Gobert went to Minnesota in a summer blockbuster deal, Mitchell quietly requested<\/a> a trade. In Cleveland, Mitchell joined a talented group of young players praised for their genuine identity, but who\u2019d yet to do much with it. There were questions of fit, of whether Mitchell would be the star who required the most gravity, and then the Cavs made it back to the postseason for the first time since LeBron James left in large part due to Mitchell\u2019s leadership but also, his equilibrium.<\/p>\n

When speaking about the team, Mitchell\u2019s perspective shifts between coach and player, in micro and macro view. It\u2019s apparent that rather than a straight shot up, as many star players want their trajectory to be, in Cleveland, Mitchell\u2019s has bloomed out in all directions. Part coach, part leader, part star, part role-player, even if by his own admission, his time in Cleveland, especially notching his 200th game, \u201csnuck up\u201d on him.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt feels like everything\u2019s been happening so fast,\u201d he says, \u201cyou look up and you\u2019re at 200 games \u2014 and hopefully I\u2019m at 200 or 300 more, right? That\u2019s the goal. It\u2019s a blessing to be able to be with the franchise for almost half of my career. They\u2019ve welcomed me with open arms and have been welcoming ever since I\u2019ve been here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The kind of \u201cblink and you\u2019ll miss it\u201d time that turned Mitchell into a veteran also whipped by because of how the team gets along \u2014 which is really well. Start talking about his teammates\u2019 quirks (Jarrett Allen\u2019s self-professed nerdom and aptitude for science) and preferences (Nance Jr.\u2019s deep kindness) and Mitchell breaks into a big smile, nodding knowingly. The Cavs just seem relatable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it makes the locker room easy,\u201d Mitchell says, when asked how that sense of relatability has built up over the seasons. \u201cIt also makes it easier for you to have those conversations that you need to have. If you genuinely know that I\u2019m saying this cause I care, then you won\u2019t take it personal. It\u2019s not always the case in the league.\u201d<\/p>\n

In close quarters, spending more than half the year together with fatigue, ups and downs, and high stakes all playing a part, there\u2019s bound to be conflict.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere\u2019s good friction and sometimes there\u2019s bad friction. The fact that we all collectively get along, we understand what we\u2019re about, we understand that life is bigger than just this game. That\u2019s one thing that brings us together as a group so when we hold each other accountable there\u2019s no hard feelings,\u201d Mitchell says. \u201cIt\u2019s understanding that this is out of love and respect and passion for what we\u2019re trying to accomplish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mitchell\u2019s own equilibrium comes from a balance struck between maintaining hobbies and habits that seem to naturally compliment his day job. Anyone who\u2019s watched him warm up, going back to his first days in the league, is familiar with the sight of Mitchell\u2019s over-ear wireless headphones, fixed snug on his head. He runs through his shots, drills and jokes with his coaches, does some light conditioning work, all while subtly bobbing his head to whatever music he\u2019s got going that day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have ADD,\u201d Mitchell says, \u201cif I don\u2019t have headphones on I hear everybody screaming at me. So then my mind kind of goes to 85 different places,\u201d he ping pongs a finger around in the air in front of him. \u201cThat\u2019s one thing about knowing myself, I know that I need to be able to be here,\u201d he pauses again to chop a palm down the middle of his body, \u201cso whenever I hear a kid screaming my name, I want to give that kid attention. I want to do that, I want to be that for that child. But you also have to understand that this is time to lock in, so I can\u2019t really be in all those different spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a change Mitchell made when he first got to the league, \u201cMy first two games I was looking around, like Man, there are people everywhere. Then it just became that this is a place for me to be in my own space and feel where I\u2019m at, and get ready for the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Mitchell\u2019s other hobby, revealed this week in his partnership announcement with CarMax, is drumming. He\u2019s been doing it since he was in the third grade.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of those hidden things I think people don\u2019t know about me,\u201d he smiles. \u201cWhen my teammates hear I can drum, they think it\u2019s sweet until they get out there and try it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The spot features Mitchell listing his car via app, backed by a lounge-y band that trails him around the house as he plays video games and waits for an offer. It culminates with keys changing hands and the car about to be towed away, but the real finale is Mitchell, banging out a solo behind a full drum kit in his garage. Another new partner the brand announced along with Mitchell is WNBA rookie Paige Bueckers<\/a>. Mitchell\u2019s been a fan of the brand since its early partnership days with the WNBA and NBA, shouting out a favorite spot that included Sue Bird and Steph Curry, and the way the brand\u2019s ethos of integrity and empowerment aligns with his own values personally as Donovan Mitchell \u201cthe brand\u201d and professionally, with his work as VP of the NBPA.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBeing on the PA, we\u2019re working so hard to bridge the WNBA and NBA, and to see a company that\u2019s continually finding ways to do that partnership is amazing,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Mitchell says besides his teammates, not many people know he\u2019s a drummer. His favorite drummer is Travis Barker \u2014 the first guy he saw mix hip hop into drumming (\u201cThat got me going\u201d). His favorite genre to throw on and drum along with is rock, though he doesn\u2019t listen to much of it day to day (\u201cI\u2019ll type in some rock song that I heard back when I was a kid and play that\u201d). Favorite song to play? \u201cDani California\u201d by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.<\/p>\n

Despite his experience, he admits he gets embarrassed playing in front of people, and that debuting his talent in the commercial is conquering a fear.<\/p>\n

You\u2019d think it would be easy to draw a parallel between drumming and basketball \u2014 pace, rhythm, directing the game. And you\u2019d be right if you, unlike some interviewers, didn\u2019t get caught up trying to match facets of Mitchell\u2019s game to specifics of drumming. Still, after a laugh, Mitchell gracefully connects the two.<\/p>\n

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\u201cDifferent beats,\u201d he chuckles, \u201cdifferent games call for different scenarios. You go out and some beats are 1\/16th, or 1\/8th. Everybody talks about how certain guys play a different kind of genre of music, you got jazz, rock, you got hip hop \u2014 for me, it\u2019s being able to be whatever\u2019s called for. It\u2019s taking what the game gives me and it\u2019s kind of like music, every song you have the bridge, the chorus, the intro. It may not be fast, may need to be slower. My job as a scorer, and as the leader, is understanding whatever\u2019s needed in that moment, that\u2019s what I give.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s what the Cavs got. Since getting over those early season thumps, Cleveland\u2019s been humming. They\u2019re trailing the very hot-to-start Pistons at 10-6, Mitchell\u2019s averaging 30.2 points per game and 5.3 assists. His connectivity on the floor, reading what\u2019s needed and doing it, doesn\u2019t just shift game to game, but quarter to quarter. He solos, supports, and with a roster as promisingly deep as Cleveland\u2019s there are a lot of minutes to go around. Basically, this is a really big band.<\/p>\n

The lesson from drumming continues, perhaps, in the surprises that come with growth and development. On the subject of the last few season\u2019s disappointments and the early lessons in this one, Mitchell sees how each fits and carries over.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re never perfect. Even if we had won, there\u2019s still something. I bet you there\u2019s a bunch of things OKC thinks that they could\u2019ve done better, and they won,\u201d he says, noting the same to be true for the last teams that won the title, going back to the Cavs. \u201cYou make adjustments. It\u2019s not just externally, bringing people in, sometimes it\u2019s internal. As great as a season as I had last year, I can be better.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhether it\u2019s your habits, what you\u2019re eating, the way you\u2019re recovering,\u201d he continues, \u201cthere\u2019s so many different things that you\u2019re using this time for and building upon. Getting better and better step by step and then collectively, we rise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like the high snap of a snare drum, or that metronomic thumping Mitchell visualized against the team\u2019s last big competitive wall, the Cavs seem on an emphatic course \u2014 no matter the outcome. What\u2019s evident, and should be worrisome for any team in the East that envisioned an easy go of the conference this season, is that when Mitchell talks about the wall, it\u2019s clear he\u2019s also visualized the other side.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At Cavs media day, Donovan Mitchell directly addressed the elephant in the room: the team\u2019s three failed trips…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":303828,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[5786,7567,6250,852,2120,13054,2652,27495,133524,51300,3013,19803,8263,6429,355,92429,99,3781,157841,25152,12378,120214],"class_list":["post-303827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-atlanta","tag-brooklyn","tag-cavs","tag-cleveland","tag-detroit","tag-donovan-mitchell","tag-indiana","tag-jarrett-allen","tag-jaylon-tyson","tag-larry-nance-jr","tag-lebron-james","tag-lonzo-ball","tag-milwaukee","tag-minnesota","tag-nba","tag-rudy-gobert","tag-sports","tag-steph-curry","tag-the-cavs","tag-thomas-bryant","tag-toronto","tag-tyrese-proctor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=303827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/303828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=303827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=303827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=303827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}