Cavs Video Breakdowns: Mitchell’s one-man Cavalanche

Mitchell nearly led a comeback all on his own.

The Cleveland Cavaliers found themselves starting down an 18-point deficit entering the fourth quarter in Detroit. No one would have blamed the Cavs for waving the white flag — considering it was the second night of a back-to-back just days after getting home from a grueling West Coast road trip.

And yet, Donovan Mitchell left it all out on the court to deliver a one-man Cavalanche that nearly tipped the scales. Mitchell scored 22 points in the fourth quarter. It wasn’t enough, but you can’t say Mitchell didn’t put forth his best effort.

The Cavs cut the lead to two points before succumbing to a 14-5 run from Detroit. This final push from the Pistons put the game away. But let's look back at Mitchell’s fourth-quarter outburst and what the Cavs needed to do differently once he brought them back from the dead.

Mitchell brings the Cavalanche

Mitchell hasn’t shot the ball well for most of March. It felt like he was due for an offensive explosion at some point. So I guess it’s not a surprise that he finally found his touch in the fourth against Detroit.

It starts with a simple isolation play. The Cavs clear out one side of the floor and let Mitchell go to work against a smaller Dennis Schroder. The result is two free throws.

Next up, it’s Evan Mobley running an inverted pick-and-roll with Mitchell as the screener. Mobley wasn't much of a scoring threat in this game (just eight points) but he managed to occupy two defenders just long enough for Mitchell to explode to the rim on the catch.

Multiple Mitchell buckets have the Pistons feeling a sense of urgency. Schroder bites on this pumpfake and Mitchell penetrates the defense for an easy drive-and-kick to Dean Wade. It’s a three-pointer.

The Cavs still find themselves down 16 points. But the tides are turning. A quick three-point attempt in transition is put back into the bucket by Mitchell. Credit to Isaac Okoro for clearing space by trucking Schroder out of the way. This made Mitchell’s acrobatic tip-in an easier shot.

A Cavalanche is never created without any defense. Active hands from Wade lead to a turnover — and then Schroder is blasted into the ground by an aggressive drive from Wade. Just like that, the Cavs are roaring back into this game.

Cavs' offense was deliberate

Here, the Cavs get creative. Mitchell ghosts a screen for Darius Garland — and then Okoro slams Garland’s defender with a screen to take him completely out of the play. Now, Garland is in the heart of the defense with multiple Pistons eyeing him. So, Mitchell swifly cuts from the wing to convert a tough layup over Isaiah Stewart. And-one.

It’s still an uphill battle. The Cavs let Okoro set Mitchell a downscreen so he can curl off the elbow and catch the ball with an advantage. It’s another quick action that gets Mitchell to the free-throw line. The Cavs are inching closer to Detroit.

Down by 10, the Cavs again use Okoro as a screener. Jalen Duren was a step too far away from Cleveland’s guards all night. So when Mitchell pops off Okoro’s screen, it’s for an easy three-point shot.

All of this effort and the Cavs have yet to reclaim this game. Their inability to get stops limited them all night. We’ll talk more about this later. Below, you’ll find another three-point bomb from Mitchell. Nothing special about this one — it was just a great shot from a player who is officially on fire.

Finally, after a pair of free throws from Porter, the Cavs get a stop and move in transition. Porter sets a screen to give Mitchell an ounce of daylight, and that’s all he needs at this point. Money.

The Cavs pulled all the way to within two points. From here, everything went wrong.

The opposite of a Cavalanche

Cleveland’s inspiring rally was instantly met by a tough foul from Mitchell. He sent Malik Beasly to the line for three attempts after fouling him on a three-point shot. A play later, Mitchell went to the line himself — and missed both of them. The Cavs rebounded his miss, only for Garland to clank an open corner three-pointer on the kick-out.

This was the beginning of the end.

Right here, we see the Cavs defense totally unravel. The 2-3 zone is a useful tool but only if all five players are connected. Porter is woefully out of position as Beasley drags him away from the baseline and up to the wing. Porter never recovers and the result is a simple drive-and-dump-off pass for Detroit.

This is only explained by inexperience. Porter hasn’t closed many games in his NBA career and he certainly hasn’t done it in a zone. To avoid blaming it entirely on Porter — let’s rewind to a play just minutes ago. Watch Garland in the top corner as he completely loses track of Hardaway (who had six three-pointers at this point).

Back to the closing minutes, Cleveland is right back in the hole. And when Mitchell turns the corner off another Okoro screen — it’s a fantastic vertical contest that keeps him from scoring another bucket. Credit to Duren for meeting Mitchell at the rim here.

The game isn’t over yet but the Cavs are on life support. This nasty stepback from Schroder would pull the plug on any attempted comeback.

A better defensive effort would have kept the Cavs out of this hole in the first place. But even once they rallied back to make it a game again — it was the defense that put them back into a double-digit deficit. The team’s defensive integrity has slipped in March. They must rediscover their focus on this end of the floor before entering the playoffs.