It can be a bit concerning that the Cleveland Cavaliers, after flaming out in spectacular fashion during the 2025 NBA playoffs are sleepwalking through the 2025-26 campaign. They’ve been okay, but the air of dominance that they carried themselves with last year, even just in the regular season, seems to be all but gone now. In fact, the Washington Wizards, the team with the worst record in the league, pushed them to the brink on Friday night.
But the Cavs have a true superstar in Mitchell who simply won’t accept a loss to the lowly Wizards lying down. He scored 24 points in the fourth quarter alone to rescue Cleveland from what would have been an embarrassing defeat, overturning a deficit that grew to as big as 17 en route to a 130-126 victory.
Mitchell finished with 48 points on the night, and there remains no question as to who the Cavs’ best player is. While it is worrying that they needed this herculean performance just to beat the Wizards, what matters the most to the Cavs is that they got the victory.
After the game, Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson was asked what his team found down the stretch to get the win. His answer was straight to the point, crediting Mitchell for a job well done.
“We found Donovan Mitchell,” Atkinson said, via David Aldridge of The Athletic.
Cavs have to wake up
You may also likeArticle continues below
Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) reacts after missing a shot during the fourth quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Rocket Arena
Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
The Cavs may be without Jarrett Allen, but this team prided itself on its depth last season and won 64 games even though they were routinely resting their key players. This season, the Cavs’ defense is ranked outside the top 10, and their offense, which led the league last season in points scored per 100 possessions, just ranks 10th.
This Cavs squad has lofty ambitions of winning a title, and considering how elite the Oklahoma City Thunder have been, this kind of play isn’t going to get the job done. They have to wake up, and Mitchell’s heroic effort has to be a huge call for them to do so.