The top-seed Cleveland Cavaliers were shockingly defeated in the second round of the playoffs by the No. 4 Indiana Pacers.
Few predicted this outcome. Nonetheless, the Pacers proved to be a better and deeper team than the Cavaliers. Now, that leaves the Cavaliers to shift their attention to next season, hoping to get back to where they were in the regular season but move further in the playoffs.
There is no doubt that the Cavaliers’ season was a disappointment, and with those high hopes comes criticism. ESPN analyst and former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins went in on Cavaliers star guard Donovan Mitchell.
In a recent appearance on the Road Trippin’ podcast, Perkins called out Mitchell and even blamed the six-time All-Star for his team’s shortcomings.
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“A Donovan Mitchell-led team has never been to the conference finals. Donovan Mitchell, you got a coach fired. You got J.B. Bickerstaff fired. This is a fact. You had no communication with that man while he was there. You didn’t like him, right? Soon as he got fired, you signed a contract extension, right? You extended with the Cavs,” Perkins said.
Although Perkins went in on Mitchell, he also criticized key players on the team, like Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter, for missing games due to injuries.
“How many times y’all watched that game and the camera went on Donovan and it was like Donovan wanted the world to know that his ankle was sore and that he was pushing through it. … He wanted y’all to know that, ‘I’m giving it my all, y’all, but I got a sore ankle,'” said Perkins, comparing that to the toughness displayed by Jalen Brunson and Anthony Edwards, who are also battling injuries.
“To sum it up, this Cavs team, they were just f––ing soft. They were soft. There’s no other way to slice it and dice it. They were soft,” Perkins concluded.
The Cavaliers did deal with their fair share of injuries, including Mitchell. 28-year-old aggravated a sprained left ankle during Game 4 against the Pacers and was ruled questionable for Game 5.
He pushed through and suited up for what turned out to be the team’s final game of the year. Mitchell expressed frustration after the loss and committed to returning better than ever. While injuries played a role, they were ultimately outmatched by the superior squad.
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