The Cleveland Cavaliers need their leading scorer to show up.
It’s not enough that Donovan Mitchell drops 33 points, because not all 33-point performances are good performances.
If you need 30 shots to score 33 points, you didn’t have a good game.
Notably, the Indiana Pacers did an outstanding job of messing with Mitchell’s rhythm while winning Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
That was particularly true when Andrew Nembhard was the closest and primary defender.
“According to NBA.com matchup data, Andrew Nembhard held Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell to 2 points on 1 of 10 shooting,” Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com wrote on X.
According to https://t.co/bN0Wpmx5Nm matchup data, Andrew Nembhard held #Cavs Donovan Mitchell to 2 points on 1 of 10 shooting.
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) May 5, 2025
Mitchell has struggled against physical defense in the past, and Nembhard guarded him the length of the court, often picking him up on the baseline.
He didn’t allow Mitchell to get clean looks at the rim, constantly denying passing lanes and forcing him to take tough and heavily contested shots.
Mitchell is the best scorer on the Cavs, and his ability to rise to the occasion — or inability to do so — could be the defining factor in the series.
Granted, he’s not likely to go 1-of-11 from beyond the arc in every game, and the Cavs just needed a couple of friendly bounces to go their way and things would’ve been very different.
However, this is a worrisome trend.
The Pacers have more than enough bodies and looks to throw at Mitchell, and Nembhard may have cracked the code as to how to keep his scoring outbursts to a minimum.
NEXT: Analyst Shares A Big Concern About Cavs After Loss To Pacers
