After a rough road trip, the Cleveland Cavaliers finally caught a break with a home game against the Spurs. The same team, which is limping along without its key players due to injuries, again managed to win 3 in a row, improving their last 10-game stats. Winning this season for them is usual, and the rare losses make them worried, but thanks to Donovan Mitchell, the East vs West showdown was as exciting as ever. And the real star of the night? Mitchell’s assists, which had the Cavaliers’ head coach making some pretty bold confessions, bringing the King into the picture.

Praising Mitchell for his passes is something Kenny Atkinson does often, and Thursday was no exception. After the 124-116 win, when asked about Mitchell’s playmaking, the coach couldn’t help but admire his skill. “He can just, I think of a center fielder just gunning it to home plate… He doesn’t need a lot of motion, right? He doesn’t need a wind-up. It’s just like, he uses” Kenny gestured at shooting the basket to explain to the media how Spida does it, and continued, “And the ball is just an absolute dart to me.”

Next thing you know, Kenny used the Lakers’ superstar as an example to emphasize that not many players can do what Donovan Mitchell does. “There’s very few players in the league that have, you know, LeBron’s one of them,” he said in the post-game press conference. “I always felt like playing LeBron, it was like, if you shift off one millimeter, he’s going to fire not only a great pass, but an absolute dart to the shooter, and you can’t even—you’re just stuck. And Donovan’s in that class.” Kenny believes the four-time champion can deliver perfectly timed, precise passes with incredible accuracy, and Mitchell possesses that same elite skill.

Kenny sat back in awe last night as the guard dazzled with his 14 passes, in addition to stuffing the stat sheet with 25 points and 8 rebounds. It wasn’t just the coach who was impressed. Donovan Mitchell’s teammate, Jarrett Allen, also showered him with praise. “He’s a phenomenal scorer, but he’s a phenomenal passer as well,” Ja said in a sideline interview after they secured the victory. “I feel like he dished to everybody that was open when it was time.”

Reflecting his mindset, Donovan emphasized that he focuses on making plays simple yet smart. He prefers driving to the middle and passing to the corner, rather than always going for flashy, difficult passes. “It’s the balance between being a scorer and a passer,” Mitchell clarified in the locker room interview last night. “You’re going to sometimes take those tougher shots, but in order to become the playmaker that I’ve tried to grow and become, it’s being able to make the simple ones, not always the home run passes.” So, the 28-year-old feels that consistently making the right play is key to becoming a better playmaker. Besides that, Mitchell also revealed what was said in the Cavaliers’ huddle that got caught on the mics.

Donovan Mitchell opens up about secret Cavaliers’ message

Last time, it was Darius Garland who took charge, and this time, Max Strus gave a speech that boosted the Cavs in the huddle. A reporter asked Donovan Mitchell about their huddle, where Max emphasized the importance of playing like the team they want to be with, given that their are just 10 games left. Mitchell was surprised that she knew about it! Not for long, as the reporter revealed, Max had been miked up. He was then asked how much the team needed a leader like Max to keep them motivated and moving forward.

“That’s leadership,” Mitchell underlined. “And when you have a guy like him who’s consistently putting his body on the line, consistently trying to make the right play, play the right way, having that message for the group, it’s huge. You know, and it definitely allows—it kind of propels the group and allows us to continue to take that step forward.”

Max isn’t usually the one giving motivational speeches, but guess the playoff fever has clearly kicked in. “You got to be playing your best basketball going into the playoffs. You don’t just want to wake up when it’s time to wake up. So we need to start figuring out what it is that we need to do to play our best basketball and be our best selves going into April and May,” Max explained the reason behind his strong message. The forward is confident the team has what it takes to win the championship, but they’re lacking in experience. With nine games left, it’s time to figure things out and improve.

The Cleveland team has worked hard to stay at the top of the standings all season. Now, with the regular season wrapping up, they need to stay focused and maintain their level of play for the postseason tournament. Do you think this team can deliver the same level of performance when the real showdown begins? Let us know your thoughts!