Shedding the "second-round ceiling" label, Cleveland Cavaliers superstar Donovan Mitchell silenced critics with a masterful Game 7 performance as the Cavs advance to Eastern Conference Finals showdown with New York Knicks.
Game 7s have a finite way of defining a player's career.
Cleveland Cavaliers star James Harden knows that better than anybody. A few bad Game 7s across his 17 years in the NBA have stained him as a player who can't get it done on the grandest stage.
At 36, though, it's not his legacy that was under the microscope for Sunday's Game 7 between the Cavs and Detroit Pistons. That honor belonged to Donovan Mitchell.
Nine years into his NBA career, Mitchell has failed to advance beyond the second round of the playoffs in both conferences. It's often left him labeled as a player who can't be the No. 1 option on a championship caliber team.
Whatever amount of pressure swirled around Mitchell leading into the game, head coach Kenny Atkinson made his expectations for the face of the franchise clear.
"Just be Donovan Mitchell."
Mitchell was exactly what he needed to be in the Cavs 125-94 blowout win over the Pistons. In a series where Mitchell had struggled for long stretches as a scorer, he settled for making the right plays in Game 7.
Three of Cleveland's first four buckets came off assists from Mitchell. The scoring was secondary to the play-making for Mitchell, and it set the tone for a game that saw the Cavs big men, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley combine for 44 points.
The points eventually came for Mitchell. Particularly in the third quarter, where he flipped the switch from facilitator to bucket-getter, dropping 15 of his 26 points in that stanza. His efforts had the Cavs up 25 heading into the fourth quarter. The game was over.
Mitchell's final stat line: 26 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds. He fouled out with about four minutes to play and Cleveland up 32, triggering a "calling off the dogs" by Atkinson.
It was a masterpiece of a performance. And for Atkinson, it was better than he expected.
"He was better than Donovan Mitchell," was how he described it.
He then went on to gush about Mitchell's leadership. How through a tumultuous season marred by injuries, inconsistent basketball and eventually massive roster changes at the trade deadline, it was the seven-time All-Star who kept them together.
"He kept this thing together this year. When things weren't going great, he was the beacon, the light, his leadership," said Atkinson. "He carried us on the court, right? Sam Merrill out, 30 games, Evan out, you know, JA out. He was the guy who carried us. And then when things weren't going great, he was the person everyone looked to.
"We could have splintered. If your leader splinter, you know, if he goes in another direction, which you very well could have, things weren't going great, but he stayed positive."
That's another part of Mitchell's legacy. When other superstars around this league force their way out when things get tough, or the team seems to hit a postseason wall, Mitchell stood by the core of this roster because he believed a moment like Sunday night was possible with this group.
Of course, it came with some tweaks along the way, most notably the additions of Harden, Keon Ellis and Dennis Schröder at the trade deadline this year. But Mitchell, Mobley, Allen, role players like Sam Merrill, Dean Wade, even Max Strus – who has been here for three of Mitchell's four years with the franchise – have all seen this thing through to this memorable night.
Mitchell's legacy may have been complicated before. It's much less so now. On the grandest of stages, he delivered one of his best performances. He also did it as the ever-humble star he's always been. Never seeking the attention or praise, despite overcoming the greatest hurdle that has stood in his way for nearly a decade.
"It's a blessing, God is good," said Mitchell. "I wouldn't be here without my teammates, but we've got work to do coming up."
The narratives that once defined Mitchell throw them out. From here on out, he and the Cavs are authoring new ones.
That new story begins on the biggest stage in all of basketball, Madison Square Garden, where a juggernaut Knicks team on more than a week of rest awaits. And there are plenty of demons to exercise in the Big Apple.
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