So close, and yet so far. Donovan Mitchell yet again has been eliminated from the playoffs. Unlike his previous years with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Utah Jazz, he made it to the conference finals, but it took the littlest time possible, literally, to lose.
No matter how you slice it, Mitchell keeps running into the same brick wall he did with the Jazz. Because his team counts on him as their guy, they continuously prove themselves to be a paper tiger. The epitome of "really, really good, but just not great."
It clearly points to the fact that Spida isn't your best player if you're trying to win a title. He's not James Harden-level bad as a playoff dropper, but he's not consistent, and his defense has never rounded out to be better than meh.
He's definitely gotten better over the years, but he went from the Jazz to the East Jazz with the Cavaliers. It's bene four years, and sure, they finally got over the hump to make it to the ECF, but when you get swept, how much further did you really go from a non-technical standpoint.
The sad fact is, Mitchell simply isn't your guy if you're trying to win a title. That was pretty much already known, but what makes it harder is that he's not even close. That's not to say he can't be a guy, but definitely not the guy.
Rudy Gobert has been better, but not by much
Gobert has experienced more playoff success since leaving the Jazz than Mitchell has, but only slightly. He has made the conference finals twice and has at least won two games in that round over those two series, while Mitchell has not.
There is a bigger difference between the Timberwolves' approach with Gobert and the Cavaliers ' approach with Mitchell. Minnesota got him to believe he was more of a complementary piece than the franchise cornerstone. Cleveland acquired Mitchell because they thought he was their guy.
Sadly, their failure to advance much further than they did in Utah is further evidence that the Jazz teams with Mitchell and Gobert are quality, but were doomed to win only one round at best. Thankfully, the team didn't double down on it, and look where it's gotten them now.
But now, the Cavaliers have a lot of questions. To be fair, so do the Timberwolves. The big difference is, the latter will look into more of a retool, while it's becoming more glaring that the former may have to rebuild.
Add us as a preferred source on Google