Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell reportedly told Marc Spears before the season that it was “cool” that the media wasn’t talking about them despite the Cavs having championship aspirations.
"They can compete with the champs."@MarcJSpears thinks the Cavs have proven they can be competition for the Celtics 😤 pic.twitter.com/uvH1dyPneX
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) December 2, 2024
“I talked to Spida before the season, and he’s like, ‘Look, we got championship aspirations,’” Spears said. “‘Y’all ain’t talking about us. It’s cool. We know what we could be.’ And healthy, they look like they could be that.”
So far, Mitchell and the Cavs are showing that they deserve to be in the title conversation with their play, winning 18 of their first 21 games. They currently hold the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference after knocking off the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
Mitchell has been one of the driving forces in Cleveland’s hot start. He’s averaging 24.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game this season while shooting 45.7 percent from the field and 39.8 percent from 3-point range.
A five-time All-Star, Mitchell signed an extension with the Cavs in the offseason, keeping him in Cleveland for the long haul.
Since joining the Cavs, Mitchell has led the franchise to back-to-back playoff appearances, and Cleveland won its first-round playoff series against the Orlando Magic last season.
While the Cavs ultimately came up short in the second round, losing to Boston in five games, they have continued to make steps as a contender since adding Mitchell in a trade with the Utah Jazz prior to the 2022-23 season. It’s also worth noting that both Mitchell and Jarrett Allen missed time in the Boston series due to injuries. That certainly limited Cleveland’s ceiling against the eventual NBA champions.
The Cavs also showed some major belief in their current core this past offseason, signing Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Allen to contract extensions. So far it has paid off, as Cleveland has the best record in the NBA.
Cleveland will look to add to its win total on Tuesday night in an NBA Cup matchup with the Washington Wizards. Washington is just 2-16 in the 2024-25 season and hasn’t beaten any team other than the Atlanta Hawks (twice) that it has played so far this season.
Tuesday’s game is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. EST in Cleveland.
