Cleveland Cavaliers Eliminated From Playoffs, Donovan Mitchell Brutally Honest

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been officially eliminated from the playoffs following their 114-105 loss to the Indiana Pacers in game five of their Eastern Conference semifinals series.

Despite winning 64 games in the regular season, the second most in franchise history, the Cavs’ early departure from the playoffs comes as a disappointment. Cavs star Donovan Mitchell knows his team needs to be better.

“Getting beat down like this and y’all are gonna write some s— about us, man,” Mitchell said. “And that’s gonna be fuel. Fuel for everybody. Y’all gonna say a lot of sh–. Y’all are. And that’s what it takes. I’ve been here. So, I understand, we understand, and we just gotta use it for fuel for next year.”

The Cavs started the playoffs on a hot streak, dominating the Miami Heat in a series that had the largest point differential for a sweep all-time.

Then, Cleveland hit a wall against the Pacers.

The Cavs started game five with a 31-19 lead after the first quarter and led by as much as 19 at one point. The Pacers were able to weather the storm and send the Cavs home early.

Mitchell finished game five with 35 points and nine rebounds. Evan Mobley finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds.

As a team, the Cavs shot under 40% from the field and under 30% from three. Max Strus, who reportedly sent an inspiring message pregame to the team’s group chat, finished with zero points on 0-9 shooting.

“We had to find a way to match it [physicality],” Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We didn’t. I think we’re built for it, but we weren’t ready for that.”