The Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t face a lot of adversity during the regular season.
When they did, however, they managed to bounce back more often than not.
That’s why they shouldn’t be too rattled or sound off the alarms after dropping Game 1 against the Indiana Pacers.
Then again, the Cavs can’t rest on their laurels, either.
Following the defeat, Donovan Mitchell said the team needs to sit back and watch the tape to determine what went wrong, and though he acknowledges that the situation isn’t ideal, he also knows they have more than enough time to turn things around.
“We gotta look at the film and then we gotta execute. I think that’s the biggest thing. I could tell you what it was, but we gotta go out there and execute on the floor, and I have no doubt that we will. That’s the team we’ve shown to be, and it’s one game. I mean, yeah, we lost home-court advantage technically, but it’s one game. And we just gotta respond for Game 2,” Mitchell said, via Cleveland.com.
Mitchell has often said he thrives off adversity, so it’s time to prove that.
The Cavs have had smooth sailing for most of the season, and people wanted to watch them respond when they were put to the test in the playoffs.
The Pacers aren’t a good matchup for the Cavaliers, and they’ve now beaten them four out of five times this season, including the last three in a row.
Cavs guard Darius Garland is out with a toe injury, leaving an even bigger burden for Mitchell to carry.
Health is of the utmost importance, but everybody’s banged up in the playoffs, so now that Cleveland has lost home-court advantage and is facing serious adversity for the first time in the postseason, it might have to rush Garland back to the court.
There’s no need to panic, but the Cavs can’t afford not to change things.
NEXT: Donovan Mitchell Has Honest Admission About Performance On Sunday
