Go Rays!
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Time/Place: 6:40 p.m., Comerica Park
SB Nation Site: Covering the Corner
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: LHP Framber Valdez (2-2, 4.32 ERA) vs. RHP Slade Cecconi (2-4, 5.60 ERA)
| Player | G | IP | K% | BB% | GB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valdez | 9 | 50.0 | 18.8 | 7.6 | 52.8 | 4.04 | 0.6 |
| Cecconi | 9 | 45.0 | 18.5 | 8.3 | 42.8 | 5.05 | 0.1 |
UPDATE: Start time will be delayed by weather.
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The most anticipated series of the season tips off tonight, as the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs — the two best teams in the NBA — play Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
We've polled our basketball experts for their favorite NBA picks for tonight's game, where, despite two elite defenses, we should see plenty of offense in OKC.
| Pick | Odds |
|---|---|
 Jon Metler:  Fox o15.5 points | -125 |
 Jason Logan:  Holmgren o1.5 assists | -115 |
 Joe Osborne: Over 221.5 | -110 |
Odds courtesy of bet365.
Take advantage of the early win payout at bet365, where any pre-game NBA moneyline bet gets paid out as a winner if your team goes up by 20+ points!
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Price: -125 at bet365
All season long, I’ve been looking for schedule spots where De'Aaron Fox should see elevated minutes and a usage spike in crunch time. It’s harder than you think, because the San Antonio Spurs blow out so many teams, but the Western Conference Finals are the perfect series to target Fox’s props. Every game should be highly competitive, which is massive for Fox, who is one of the most clutch scorers in the NBA and a former Clutch Player of the Year Award winner. I know the Thunder boast an elite defense, but Fox shouldn’t be trading as low as 15.5 — his scoring output was down this season simply because San Antonio didn't need him in the 4th quarter. In this series, they will, and Fox will get to his spots in the mid-range. I'd price the over on 15.5 points closer to -185.
Price: -115 at bet365
Chet Holmgren was in attack mode against a smaller Lakers lineup in Round 2, but he meets his match now as Victor Wembanyama can counter his size, speed, and shooting. In their head-to-head meetings this season, Holmgren's scoring numbers — and usage — plummeted. Holmgren will play away from the rim to draw Wemby out of the paint and open the interior for his teammates. The 7-footer will be used as more of a conduit for the Oklahoma City Thunder offense, finding cutters, connecting with shooters off screen actions and kickouts, or dump-downs to Isaiah Hartenstein. His assists projections all sit north of the 1.5 O/U total, ranging from 1.6 to as high as 2.3 dimes for tonight.
Price: -110 at bet365
Expect a fast pace and sharpshooting from deep in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. OKC now shifts from facing two of the league’s slowest-paced teams, the Suns and Lakers, to a Spurs squad playing at the second-fastest pace this postseason. That pace has led to San Antonio allowing the most shot attempts per game in the playoffs, which should create plenty of opportunities for a Thunder offense averaging a postseason-best 121.3 points per game. The Spurs haven't been far off on the road, where they're averaging 119.4 PPG. Both teams are also shooting a better percentage from three in the playoffs than they did during the regular season.
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
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DETROIT (AP) — Tarik Skubal’s multi-million dollar pitching arm feels better than it has all season.
Less than two weeks after having surgery to remove a loose body from his elbow, the Detroit Tigers ace is already freely throwing bullpen sessions.
“I haven’t had any symptoms since the surgery,” Skubal said Monday. “I didn’t realize how much it was impacting me day-to-day until taking that thing out of there.”
Skubal’s recovery has gone so well that he was called back from the team’s spring training facility in Lakeland, Florida, to continue his rehab program. He threw his full array of pitches “like a normal pregame bullpen” on Monday, prior to Detroit’s home game against Cleveland. It was his second bullpen session since the surgery but he didn’t throw at full velocity.
“The hardest part right now is I feel really good and I want to let it go (but) I’ve been instructed not to,” said Skubal, who has won the American League Cy Young Award the past two seasons.
He is expected to continue a steady progression until he’s ready for a rehab start, but there’s still no established timetable for his return.
“I’d love to sit here and give you an answer when I’m going to be back because I want that same answer,” he said. “I don’t have it but hopefully it will be sooner rather than later.”
Manager A.J. Hinch said the team and its medical staff won’t skip any steps.
“Once you put your heads together, it’s just trying to give him more and more, to get him back into the regular routine,” Hinch said.
When the team first announced that Skubal would need surgery, there was a general belief he would be out 2 to 3 months. A NanoScope, which is designed to reduce the invasive nature of the procedure, was used to remove the loose body.
“The first thing they said was, ‘the recovery will be faster,’” Skubal said. “I think I stopped listening after that.”
Skubal, who will be the biggest name free agent on the market after the season, has undergone Tommy John and flexor tendon surgery. Once he returned to the mound after the latter surgery, he became one of the majors’ most dominant pitchers. During his two Cy Young seasons, he compiled a 31-10 record and racked up 469 strikeouts in 387 1/3 innings. He’s 3-2 with a 2.70 ERA in seven starts this season.
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Jalen Brunson and the Knicks arrive at the Eastern Conference Finals well-rested after Cleveland survived back-to-back Game 7 battles to get here.
For Game 1, my Cavaliers vs. Knicks predictions zone in on Brunson exploiting Cleveland’s vulnerable perimeter defense, with his three-point shooting expected to be a key factor in setting the tone.
Here are my free NBA picks for Tuesday, May 19.
Knicks: If not for a pair of one-point losses to the Hawks in the first round, the Knicks would be undefeated in the postseason, and we’d be talking about them in the same breath as the Thunder. The Knicks have rattled off seven straight wins by an average of 26.4 points per contest.
New York has played four fewer games than Cleveland, and its combination of fresh legs, home-court advantage, and stellar play on both ends of the floor will lead it to victory tonight.
Jalen Brunson has knocked down 40.9% of his 66 3-point attempts, good for fourth-best among players with at least 60 3-point shots in the playoffs. He’s shooting a torrid 46.7% at home, over 10% better than on the road.
Brunson has hit 3+ treys in seven of 10 playoff games, including four of five at home.
Opponents have found success against the Cleveland Cavaliers from downtown, especially in the semifinals. Detroit shot just 35.6% from three in the regular season, and 32.7% in the first round before Cleveland allowed them to hit 39% in their seven-game series.
COVERS INTEL: In 26 home playoff games with the Knicks, Jalen Brunson has hit 2.7 triples on 37.9% shooting.Over their seven-game win streak, the New York Knicks rank first in Offensive Rating (130.5) and second in Defensive Rating (103). New York’s 27.5 Net Rating is nearly 11 points higher than second-place San Antonio (16.7).
Donovan Mitchell’s assists dropped from 5.7 in the regular season to just 2.9 in the playoffs, but his playmaking has translated to wins. In 63 total games with at least four assists, Mitchell and Cleveland went 44-19 straight up, including 4-0 in the playoffs.
If Cleveland wants to stay competitive in Game 1, Mitchell will need to get his teammates involved.
New York’s offense has run through Karl-Anthony Towns during its seven-game win streak, and he’s dished 5+ dimes in every contest. He should be able to find teammates for open looks.
Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, and Miles McBride can all hit a pair of triples against Cleveland’s leaky defense.
Bridges is finally back in his groove after a pitiful start to the playoffs. He’s hit 46.7% of his triples and gone for 2+ in three of his last five. McBride is fresh off a seven-triple barrage in Game 4 against the 76ers, and Hart canned four in that contest.
The Knicks have hit the moneyline in 33 of their last 45 games (+14.85 Units / 8% ROI). Find more NBA betting trends for Cavaliers vs. Knicks.
| Location | Madison Square Garden, New York, NY |
| Date | Tuesday, May 19, 2026 |
| Tip-off | 8:00 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN |
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Despite missing out on a sweep, the Nats still had a successful weekend against the O’s. They will look to keep the good times rolling against another rival in the Mets. The first time the Nats and Mets played, the Nationals managed to win two out of three. Now, they will match up for four games against a Mets team that is playing better baseball.
The Nats are making a couple lineup changes to open this series. Jorbit Vivas will replace Nasim Nunez at second base. Drew Millas will also do the catching instead of Keibert Ruiz. Besides that, it will be the same group as yesterday. Jake Irvin has not been great lately, but he will look to right the ship tonight.
The Mets are getting some big contributions from younger players. Carson Benge has settled in after a rough start to his big league career. A.J. Ewing has been fantastic to start his big league career. Those two and Juan Soto have been the heavy hitters in this Mets lineup. Bo Bichette has had a tough start to his Mets career, but we know the talent is there. Christian Scott is on the bump for the Mets tonight.
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Game Info:
Stadium: Nationals Park
Time: 6:45 PM EST
TV: Nationals.TV
Radio: 106.7 The Fan
This series is a big NL East clash. After beating the Yankees in the subway series, the Mets are looking to make a move up the standings. The Nats are going to try and hold them off. This will be a very fun four game series to watch. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!
A third Ottawa Senators prospect has advanced to play in the Memorial Cup.
Goalie Lucas Beckman and the Chicoutimi Saguenéens won the QMJHL title on Sunday with a 5-1 over the Moncton Wildcats. The Sags took the series in six games and Beckman was excellent.
The 18-year-old was chosen by Ottawa in the fourth round last year, 97th overall, and said last summer his goal this season was to be the best goalie in the Q. He's certainly in that discussion, posting a record of 16-4 in these playoffs with a 1.98 GAA and .918 save percentage.
The Sags probably entered Sunday's game feeling like a team of destiny. In Game 5, with the series tied at 2, they fell behind 4-0 before storming back to defeat the Wildcats 7-6 and grab a 3-2 series lead.
The title was a special one for Chicoutimi and their fans, who hadn't won it all in 32 years. Now they'll try to win a Memorial Cup, something they've never done in their 53-year history.
As QMJHL representatives, they'll face the host Kelowna Rockets, the WHL’s Everett Silvertips and the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers. Beckman will be facing two opponents who may soon be his AHL or NHL teammates. Sens prospects Luke Ellinas and defenseman Matthew Andonovski will be suiting up for the Rangers.
Outgoing Moncton was represented by big Finnish defenseman Eerik Wallenius, a 2024 Senators draft pick (5th round, 136), who had 10 points in 21 playoff games.
Nice moment in the handshake line between the two Sens prospects in this series, Beckman and Eerik Wallenius pic.twitter.com/zUONDOyn5U
— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) May 18, 2026
All three Senators prospects in the Memorial Cup have signed their entry-level contracts with Ottawa. Beckman just signed his last month. Wallenius still has a couple of years before he has to sign his.
The Memorial Cup starts Friday with Kitchener facing host Kelowna. Chicoutimi will play Everett on Saturday.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News
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Former Panthers Head Coach Wouldn't Be Surprised If Brady Tkachuk Is Dealt To Florida Before Next Month's Draft
The 20-27 Royals have fallen back into a tie with the Detroit Tigers for last place in the AL Central. The Royals managed to blank the Cardinals in a 2-0 victory yesterday, but that was after six straight losses. This team seems to ping-pong from elation to despair a lot. Right now, there’s a little too much despair.
Hopefully a return to the K can add some hope. After that miserable road trip, the Royals welcome the similarly-despondent 19-27 Boston Red Sox to Kansas City. The Red Sox are also recent losers, having dropped 2 of 3 games against each of the Braves, Phillies, and Rays over the past week+.
Just a few weeks ago, the Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora and a whole bunch of his staff. Wilyer Abreu, Willson Contreras, and Ceddanne Rafaela are about the only hitters having a good season for the Red Sox. Offseason trade target Jarren Duran has scuffled pretty badly to a .183/.243/.305 line. Trevor Story similarly struggled before recently being put on the IL. They’ve had some decent starting pitching but their star – Garrett Crochet – pitched to a 6.30 ERA before also being put on the IL.
The Royals have their own issues, of course. Salvador Perez and Vinnie Pasquantino are similarly struggling in the middle of the lineup. Cole Ragans is on the IL. The bullpen is suspect.
The Royals will put Seth Lugo on the mound to start. He’s somewhat returned to form with a 3.76 ERA, but there are a lot of mixed signals there. His strikeout rate is stable compared to prior years but his walk rate is up. His BABIP is wayyyy up. The key thing is that he has limited home runs – he has somehow given up only 1 homer all season. That will paper over a lot of issues but I doubt that is sustainable.
The Red Sox start Sonny Gray, who is in the final year of a 3/$76M contract. In his older age (Gray is 36), he’s pivoted to being Mark Buehrle. Very low strikeout rate, low walk rate, low homers. Limits damage on contact. Gray has managed a 3.18 ERA doing this. It’s unprecedented for Sonny – this would be the lowest strikeout rate of his career, by a lot.
A stoppable force meets a movable object. Let’s see which team blinks and scurries away.
Keep in mind the original game time was 6:40pm US Central. Apparently because of the possibility of bad weather, the game has been moved up to 6:10pm US Central. You can watch on Royals.tv or listen on 96.5 The Fan or the Royals Radio Network.
Lineups:
The Orioles start a very tough stretch of baseball tonight. Six of their next nine games are against the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays, who have the most wins in the American League. You can check out details of the Rays’ season so far in our series preview, but suffice it to say they have been kind of the opposite of the Orioles this year.
This is the first time the Orioles have visited Tropicana Field since 2024, after the Rays spent 2025 at a spring training site while their ballpark was repaired.
Some Orioles batters appear to be heating up, and it would be a nice change of pace if they would actually follow through and stay good. Gunnar Henderson and Coby Mayo are showing signs of life. Tyler O’Neill has started hitting balls harder. Even Colton Cowser hit a home run. Pete Alonso remains ice cold.
Trevor Rogers gets the ball for the Orioles tonight, and it would be another nice change of pace if he could manage to look anything like the Trevor Rogers of 2025. Come on, Trev! We want to believe!
For the Rays, it’s lefty Shane McClanahan. Gulp. He has a 2.27 ERA and an active 21.2-inning scoreless streak. I’m gonna be honest, I don’t feel like the Orioles have a chance against this guy. But maybe I’ll be wrong. That’s why they play the games, as the saying goes.
Orioles lineup
Taylor Ward (R) LF
Gunnar Henderson (L) SS
Adley Rutschman (S) C
Pete Alonso (R) DH
Tyler O’Neill (R) RF
Coby Mayo (R) 1B
Jeremiah Jackson (R) 2B
Weston Wilson (R) 3B
Blaze Alexander (R) CF
LET BASALLO FACE LEFTIES! Also, I can’t wait to see what kind of shenanigans Blaze Alexander gets up to in center field.
Rays lineup
Yandy Díaz (R) DH
Jonathan Aranda (L) 1B
Junior Caminero (R) 3B
Ryan Vilade (R) RF
Jonny DeLuca (R) CF
Chandler Simpson (L) LF
Nick Fortes (R) C
Taylor Walls (S) SS
Carson Williams (R) 2B
Let’s go O’s!
Hello again, friends! It’s time to watch the Red Sox flail away once more on a Monday, this time in Kansas City, where the game has been moved up by 30 minutes to hopefully avoid bad weather, now boasting a 7:10 EDT start time. On the bright side, Sonny Gray, one of the team’s best stories this year (not that it’s saying much) takes the mound against Kyle Isbel. On the less bright side, a) the aforementioned weather and b) this is still a lineup that has Mickey Gasper DHing and batting second. Woof. Anyhow:
By contrast, the Royals’ #2 hitter plays shortstop very well and is currently the No. 2 favorite to win the AL MVP award. The wise man bowed and spoke and all that jazz. Here’s the full lineup:
Dat’s all.
The NL East leading Atlanta Braves, who have the highest winning percentage, Division lead, and Swag LevelTM in the league, have made a transaction before tonight’s game with the Miami Marlins.
The Braves have reinstated Ronald Acuña from the 10-day Injured List. Ronald has been recovering from a Grade 1 hamstring strain since May 3rd. Acuña has been taking batting practice and running in the outfield during the last home stand, but have been insistent that he won’t return until he can play the outfield. However, he will not immediately be inserted into tonight’s starting lineup. But with Walt Weiss at the reins, anything could happen. He could start tomorrow on the Miami Marlins’ IBD Day. Well, they do like beaning Ronald. There’s a dad joke in there somewhere that you can write yourself.
To make way for Acuña, Kyle Farmer will join the Injured List with a strained right forearm. It’s tough to tell if this is a “strained right forearm”, or one that will require scans, X-rays and some extended time off. So the listed outfielders tonight will be Acuña, Jose Azocar, Michael Harris, and Mike Yastrzemski, although Mauricio Dubon plays where he wants.
They weren’t kidding around about Tarik Skubal’s accelerated rehabilitation timeline.
Less than two weeks after having surgery to remove a loose body from his left elbow, the two-time defending American League Cy Young Award winner was back on a mound Monday, May 17 at Comerica Park. Unfortunately for the struggling Detroit Tigers it was the bullpen mound, but it does make a June return seem possible.
It’s a rare ray of hope for the Tigers, who have gone 2-10 since Skubal went on the injured list May 4.
Skubal threw long toss in the outfield before rain forced him inside for a bullpen session, according to reports. It was his second mound session since surgery. He is beginning his return to a five-day schedule of throwing.
On May 6, Skubal underwent a Nanoscope procedure, a less invasive method than traditional arthroscopic surgery. The Tigers had hoped this would fast-track his return.
So far, it appears to be doing that, but manager A.J. Hinch refuses to be pinned down on a timeline.
In seven starts before the injury, Skubal went 3-2 with a 2.70 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP, striking out 45 and issuing just six walks over 43 1/3 innings.
Over the past two seasons, Skubal went 31-10 with a 2.30 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 469 strikeouts in 387 1/3 innings. He won back-to-back AL Cy Young Awards and led the AL in ERA both years. In 2025, he posted a 2.21 ERA and a 241-to-33 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 31 starts.
Skubal, who had Tommy John surgery in college and flexor tendon surgery in August 2022, is in his walk year. He is a free agent after this season and expected to command one of the largest pitching contracts in MBL history.
The Tigers entered Monday's play at 20-27, battered by injuries and in a wide-open AL Central race.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tarik Skubal returns to mound after elbow surgery
Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:
For the Reds:
Let’s talk about it.
Steve Kerr is returning to the Golden State Warriors, but he made one thing very clear while discussing his decision to stay.
Speaking with reporters on Friday, Kerr openly admitted that the Warriors are no longer the championship-caliber team they once were and that he, personally, needs to be better as a coach after the team finished the season with a record of 37-45 and missed the playoffs.
“I know I have to be better,” Kerr said in his first media availability since agreeing to return on a multi-year contract with Golden State. “I didn’t have a great coaching year.”
The most pressing issue that both Kerr and general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. specifically want to improve are turnovers. The Warriors finished the regular season tied with the Washington Wizards for the third-most turnovers per game in the NBA at 15.7. For comparison, the Oklahoma City Thunder had the fewest in the Western Conference averaging just 12.6 turnovers per game. Kerr emphasized that cleaning up those mistakes will be a major focus heading into next season.
While it may have been easy to blame last season entirely on injuries or roster limitations, Kerr instead chose to take accountability for it himself. Now, the challenge becomes whether he and the Warriors front office can successfully address those issues and help guide the Warriors back toward contention while maximizing what remains of the Stephen Curry era.
For more on this and other news around the NBA, here is our latest news round-up for Monday, May 18th:
“I think the last couple of years, frankly, have been difficult with the age, the collective age of our team – the injuries,” Kerr said. “I think we had like six guys this year who either couldn’t play back-to-backs or were on minutes restrictions, often at the same time.
“I think I really, frankly, gave everyone too much leeway this year. It just felt like we were constantly resting everybody and just trying to survive to the next game and have enough healthy bodies.”
“I think we have had discussions where we want him to finish his career (as) a Warrior,” Dunleavy said Friday. “He kind of feels the same way. I would expect him to be back, but it’s his call on that.”
Green has a player option for just over $27 million next season that he can exercise to remain with the franchise, though the Warriors could ask Green to decline the option and work out a longer-term contract with a lower annual salary. If the Warriors want to acquire a star in a trade, they would likely need to use Green’s contract to match salaries. But it remains to be seen how the next few months unfold.
Their 125-94 victory in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday finally allowed Mitchell to claim his seat in a long-coveted conference final.
The Cavs hadn’t reached a conference final without LeBron James since 1992. Mitchell has never been there, so it would be disingenuous to look past the impact of this night. It meant so much to an organization that has been haunted by James’ ghost and to Mitchell, who has been haunted by his own failures. No longer.
“A breath of fresh air,” Mitchell acknowledged after the game. “It’s been almost a decade and I’m running into the same issue. I, personally, and as a team, we can breathe a little bit … but we can only breathe for about 12 hours.”
Thursday, Wright Thompson’s feature on Kerr for ESPN revealed that a few seasons ago, the coach had starting working the lyrics from “All Too Well” by Taylor Swift into his postgame comments to the media. Kerr crossed off lyrics when he had used them and eventually his son, Matthew, who is on the writing staff for “Rooster,” edited all the Swiftie moments into one video that made it look like Kerr was reciting the whole song.
Follow @unstoppablebaby on X for all the latest news on the Golden State Warriors.
DETROIT — Over the past seven months, Donovan Mitchell made sure to remind every reporter he could that this season wasn’t the same as the previous.
“We got to let last year go,” Mitchell said back in November. “This is a whole different season. Everybody around us got better. It’s a different season. I think we have to drop this whole, ‘Well, last year was this.’ It’s not the same.”
That proved true for the Cleveland Cavaliers, in more ways than one.
Everything that seemingly could go right during the 2024-25 regular season did. They had three double-digit win streaks, won 41 games by 10 or more points, and didn’t face any adversity as they cruised to 64 wins.
Their good fortune reversed in the postseason. Injuries and an inability to close games led to them being a second-round exit in five games.
This regular season was the opposite.
The Cavs couldn’t establish any real momentum. Consistent injuries, underperforming role players, and two drastic trades led to 12 fewer wins. And far more ways for this team to fracture — except it didn’t.
“He kept this thing together,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said about Mitchell after the Game 7 win over the Detroit Pistons. “When things weren’t going great, he was the beacon, the light. His leadership carried us on the court.”
The Cavs never established any kind of rhythm or looked like a title-contending team throughout the season, but Mitchell’s steady hand on and off the court kept things on the rails. His consistent effort, seen mostly through his scoring, allowed the Cavs to tread water through turbulent times in the first half of the season. That bought the group time to figure out who they were.
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It’s not uncommon for a team that enters the year with championship aspirations to blow up before getting after the ground. Most recently, it was last season’s Philadelphia 76ers that fell flat due to injuries after trading for Paul George the summer before. The same could’ve happened in Cleveland.
Significant injuries to Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, Sam Merrill, and Max Strus, coupled with disappointing seasons from De’Andre Hunter and Lonzo Ball, could’ve easily derailed this year.
Mitchell stepped up every time he needed to. This included putting up 35+ point nights to get past tanking teams like the Brooklyn Nets, Indiana Pacers, and Washington Wizards on a somewhat consistent basis. That isn’t ideal, but it allowed the Cavs to keep pace with the rest of the conference contenders.
For as good as he was on the court, it’s how he approached things off the court that allowed this team to keep going.
“When things weren’t going great, he was the person everyone looked to,” Atkinson said. “I would’ve said this if we lost. I was going to say the same thing. We could have splintered. If your leader splintered, if he goes another direction, which he very well could have, things weren’t going great. But he stayed positive, he supported the young guys, he never got down on the group. Kudos to him.”
That spirit was seen throughout the playoffs, even when things weren’t going his way.
Mitchell struggled in the final five games of the first round series against the Toronto Raptors. In the second round, his disappointing showing in Game 6 cost them their best chance to secure a spot in the conference finals. The flaws that have plagued him throughout his career were on full display.
Instead of doubling down on trying to pull the team over the finish line himself in Game 7, he trusted his teammates to get the job done. He hit the “singles” Atkinson has been asking him to look for all postseason and finished with eight assists. Three more than he’s had in any other playoff game this year.
“That’s huge,” Jarrett Allen said. “For the leading scorer of our team to come out with the mindset not to score the ball, but to get everybody else going. I think that really set the tone for the game for us offensively. Donovan knows he can get a bucket at any time. We all believe that. But he got everybody else going. He got me a quick six points. Everybody was scoring. Sam [Merrill] was scoring, Max [Strus] was getting [clean looks] all because Don was attacking downhill and distributing the ball.”
The perseverance that Mitchell has shown throughout the season, including the postseason, has now taken this team somewhere they haven’t been with this group. They’ve taken a meaningful step forward and are now four wins away from winning the conference, a feat this franchise hasn’t done without LeBron James.
That’s worth celebrating, even if they have eyes on more.
“Even last year, we lost to Indiana, we had our goals set on getting to the Finals,” Mitchell said. “And we’re one step closer, but it’s been almost a decade of running into the same issue. I personally, and as a team, we can breathe a little bit, but in the same token, we can only breathe for about 12 hours, and then get right back at it.”
Things won’t get any easier for the Cavs.
The New York Knicks have stood in this core’s way since the very beginning. Losing to them in the humiliating fashion that they did in 2023 has set the narrative for this core. They’ve done a lot to shake those preconceived notions over the last month. This isn’t the team that we saw last year or in any of the previous playoff runs.
However, if they’re going to rewrite history, they’ll need more star performances from Mitchell. Fortunately, he has a lot of practice coming up big for this group this year.
“It’s incredible,” Allen said of Mitchell’s leadership.
“I hope Don knows this. I’ll follow him into war. I’ll trust every single decision that he makes, every single shot that he takes, every single word that he speaks in the locker room. It speaks volumes to how he is as a person. He goes out there and does follow his own message.
“It’s easy for the team, easy for myself to follow somebody that goes out there and gives 110% no matter what and is a high-level character guy as well. That makes it easier for not only the guys who’ve been in the league who’ve seen guys who don’t lead in a certain way, but especially for the young guys as well, to follow that lead. It’s been incredible for him to keep us together during those times.”