Mitchell hasn’t been terrible in this series. He’s averaging 26.0 points and 3.0 steals per game. On paper, his numbers have clearly been better than Harden’s, but he also hasn’t been anywhere near good enough for Cleveland to advance.
First of all, he’s shooting 32.1 percent from three and 68.8 pecent from the line. His low assist average is partly the result of bad shooting from teammates, but 2.7 assists isn’t enough either (especially when Harden’s creation has fallen off a cliff). And his defense hasn’t been much better than Harden’s either.
The biggest reason for criticism, though, has to be Mitchell’s performance in the games’ biggest moments. He was almost nonexistent on offense when the Knicks erased that 22-point, fourth-quarter deficit in Game 1. And for the entire series, he’s averaging 5.0 points and 0.3 assists, while shooting 20.0 percent from the field, in fourth quarters.
The performance has been uninspiring enough to wonder if Mitchell, particularly at the salary he might command, even makes sense for the Cavs’ longterm future.
Barring a miraculous comeback, Cleveland is going to have to think long and hard about pivoting to a new, Mitchell-less era this offseason.
