NBA playoffs: Donovan Mitchell returns to court to sit on bench an hour after Cavaliers eliminated: 'We'll be back'
Donovan Mitchell was incredibly emotional about the Cleveland Cavaliers' season, one of the best ones in team history that ended abruptly Tuesday night.
The Indiana Pacers held on late to beat the Cavaliers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, which gave them the 4-1 series win and secured their second straight trip to the conference finals. That left Mitchell and the Cavaliers, who had earned the top seed in the conference, heading home early.
An hour after the game ended, Mitchell returned to the court to sit on the bench.
Not long after the game ended the @cavs @spidadmitchell pondering what went wrong in losing to the #Pacers 4 games to 1 in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/cfk1kyKH6R
— Kenny "The Roadman" Roda🎙🎧📻🏈⚾️🏀🏒⚽️ (@TheKennyRoda) May 14, 2025
'I just couldn't believe it. Didn't want to believe it, don't want to believe it, still don't want to believe it,' Mitchell said. 'It's tough. It's tough to win in this league … We didn't get it done, especially at home. That's what hurts, you know?'
"We didn't get it done... especially at home. That's what hurts, you know?" Donovan Mitchell on going back out onto the court one more time after a special season 💔 pic.twitter.com/9tNbt5ElVr
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 14, 2025
Mitchell had a game-high 35 points and nine rebounds in the final loss. He averaged 34.2 points throughout the series, and he battled an apparent ankle injury in Cleveland's last two games. He left Game 5 briefly after missing the entire second half of Game 4 with the same issue Sunday. Mitchell, 28, signed a three-year, $150 million contract extension with the team last summer.
While it's hard to consider a trip to the second round of the playoffs as a failure, it's easy to see why many might view this season as just that for Cleveland. The Cavaliers, after starting out the season with 15 straight wins, won 64 games in the regular season. That's the second-highest in team history, and the franchise's third 60-win season.
But the Cavaliers fell completely flat in their series with the Pacers, who won all three of the games at Rocket Arena in Ohio and had little issue getting the win.
To make matters worse for Mitchell, he's never made it to a conference finals in his career, as ESPN's Kendrick Perkins quickly pointed out on social media. He lost twice in this round with the Utah Jazz.
A Donovan Mitchell led team has never been to a Conference Finals. I don't care how you slice it but this Season for the Cavs is a complete failure
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) May 14, 2025
Despite the loss, and the criticism that's sure to come in the coming days and weeks, Mitchell isn't giving up hope just yet. He, along with team owner Dan Gilbert, vowed to run it back.
.@cavs fans, I know it's heartbreaking. But the good news is, we have a talented young core that will learn from this and continue to get better. We appreciate your incredible support all season long. It's not how we wanted it to end, but I promise you we will do everything…
— Dan Gilbert (@cavsdan) May 14, 2025
'Yall gonna write us the f*ck off man. We'll be back.' #Cavs Donovan Mitchell after elimination: pic.twitter.com/fC2liXNdEz
— Grant Puskar (@grant_puskar_) May 14, 2025
'Y'all are going to write us the f**k off, man. But we'll be back,' Mitchell said. 'We let the city down, we let each other down. But we'll be back.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
35 minutes ago
- USA Today
Darius Garland injury update led to fans searching 'what is a great toe?'
Darius Garland injury update led to fans searching 'what is a great toe?' The biggest reason the Cleveland Cavaliers' 64-win season went down the drain was injuries. Arguably, the most consequential injury pertained to All-Star point guard Darius Garland, who missed four games in the middle of Cleveland's playoff run with something similar to turf toe. When Garland later returned as the eventual Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers eliminated the Cavaliers, he was clearly not himself. You might (understandably) think that an explosive athlete like Garland simply couldn't play through a tricky injury to the most important of his (ahem) phalanges. But maybe, just maybe, it's because he doesn't actually have a "big toe" like all other eight billion people on planet Earth and, quite literally, everyone else in human history. No, no, dearest readers. Garland apparently has a "great toe." That's at least according to ESPN's Shams Charania, who reported that Garland underwent surgery on his injured ... great toe. I'm not entirely sure what Charania is talking about. Neither did any NBA fans who looked up what a great toe is on X. But we can make educated guesses, can't we? That's right. It's INVESTIGATION time. A cursory Google search tells me that a "great toe" is just another name for a big toe. That makes sense, and it's what I thought initially anyway. I didn't actually believe that Garland was superhuman and had different anatomy than everyone else ever to walk this floating rock in space. That would be silly and rooted in absolutely zero logic. I know better. You know better. We all know better. The caveat here is that I've had a pulse for over three decades. Never in my life have I ever heard anyone refer to a big toe as a "great toe." Not in school. Not informally amongst family or friends. Not in a medical environment with so many check-ups over the years. Not on television. Not in movies. Not in music. Not in video games. Not on social media. Not once. Also, remember that I write professionally for a living. You would think, at a certain point, that I would be exposed to someone at least writing "great toe" in an email, in a group chat, or in Slack, what have you. Maybe I would've seen it in some other news publication. And nope! It's never happened. Not a single instance. So, there's a rather simple explanation here. Consider the source of Garland's injury/surgery update, Shams Charania. Please note that Charania, like the others in his "scoop artist" line of work, is able to report these kinds of things specifically because agents fill them in after they've established a healthy rapport. And, pray tell, how do you establish a rapport with the agent of a professional athlete? You launder your update about the players they represent through the language they specifically want. In exchange, they let you share that news. In this case, it's not a stretch to assume that Garland's agent wanted Charania to describe his client's big toe as a great toe. Why? Because he's not like the rest of us. He's a one-of-one NBA star, folks. His toes are special. No, wait, they're great. Never mind that no one with functional brain cells would've thought less of Garland for a post saying he had surgery on his big toe. This was Charania taking agent-speak to its natural conclusion: a needless butchering of the English language in the name of (trying) to make someone look better.
San Francisco Chronicle
40 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
New coach Lane Lambert says he expects to lead the Kraken to the playoffs
SEATTLE (AP) — Lane Lambert said he feels no pressure to turn the Seattle Kraken into a playoff contender. But his own expectation is to do exactly that. Lambert was introduced as the Kraken's coach on Monday at the team's practice facility. He was hired on May 29 after spending last season as an associate head coach with Toronto. The Maple Leafs won 52 games and the Atlantic Division title, but were eliminated in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals by Florida, which is currently playing in the Stanley Cup Final. He will become the third head coach in the history of the Kraken, who are entering their fifth season and have made the playoffs just once in their previous four. 'I have an expectation of myself and of my role and of my abilities,' the 60-year-old Lambert said. 'You start on Day 1 and it's a process, it's a journey. If you do the right things through that journey and do the right things every day and look to get better every day and stick with the process, the results will take care of themselves.' Lambert takes over for Dan Bylsma, who was fired on April 21 after one season. Seattle was well outside the playoff picture by the time of the February break for the 4 Nations Face-off and finished 35-41-6 (76 points). That was 20 points below the West's final wild-card spot and five fewer than the Kraken's 81 points in 2023-24. 'It became very evident that Lane presented the attributes we were looking for,' general manager Jason Botterill said. 'The combination of presence and knowledge to work with veteran players, and would also be dedicated to interact with young players.' Seattle ranked in the bottom third of the league on the power play (23rd), faceoff winning percentage (24th) and average shots per game (25th). It was 21st on the penalty kill, an area in which Lambert helped the Leafs improve from 23rd to fourth. 'There are priorities in certain areas, but everything has to be addressed,' Lambert said. 'You can't build Rome in a day, and that's the whole process from Day 1. You start with the process, start demanding, and you start instilling your systems, your structure, your details. But definitely, our special teams have to be better. We'll better in our defensive zone. I know we will be. So that would be the start and the focus.' Lambert has had NHL coaching jobs since 2011. His only head coaching experience came with the New York Islanders, beginning at the start of the 2022-23 season and ending when he was fired in January 2024. In his only full season, the Islanders made the playoffs but were eliminated in the first round. 'You go through an experience like that, you get let go, and you have a lot of time to reflect,' he said. 'If you don't have an ego, you can say, 'Gee, I'd do this differently or that differently. Or I'd do this or that the same.' There's certain little things I'll look at and look into changing.' He was an assistant with Nashville from 2011-14, then with Washington from 2014-18, with the Capitals winning the Stanley Cup in 2018. The Islanders hired him as associate head coach prior to 2018-19. The teams he has worked for have made the playoffs 10 times. Lambert inherits a roster that includes veterans Jaden Schwartz (a team-high 26 goals last season), Jared McCann (22 goals and a team-leading 61 points), Eeli Tolvanen (23 goals) and Chandler Stephenson (38 assists). The Kraken also have highly regarded young talent such as 2023 Rookie of the Year Matty Beniers (20 goals, 23 assists) and Shane Wright (19 goals, 25 assists). 'When you look at the team and the balance, we have great talent,' Lambert said. 'We have veteran players. The non-negotiables are that we have to play the right way — that's the formula.' ___
Fox Sports
41 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
New coach Lane Lambert says he expects to lead the Kraken to the playoffs
Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Lane Lambert said he feels no pressure to turn the Seattle Kraken into a playoff contender. But his own expectation is to do exactly that. Lambert was introduced as the Kraken's coach on Monday at the team's practice facility. He was hired on May 29 after spending last season as an associate head coach with Toronto. The Maple Leafs won 52 games and the Atlantic Division title, but were eliminated in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals by Florida, which is currently playing in the Stanley Cup Final. He will become the third head coach in the history of the Kraken, who are entering their fifth season and have made the playoffs just once in their previous four. 'I have an expectation of myself and of my role and of my abilities,' the 60-year-old Lambert said. 'You start on Day 1 and it's a process, it's a journey. If you do the right things through that journey and do the right things every day and look to get better every day and stick with the process, the results will take care of themselves.' Lambert takes over for Dan Bylsma, who was fired on April 21 after one season. Seattle was well outside the playoff picture by the time of the February break for the 4 Nations Face-off and finished 35-41-6 (76 points). That was 20 points below the West's final wild-card spot and five fewer than the Kraken's 81 points in 2023-24. 'It became very evident that Lane presented the attributes we were looking for,' general manager Jason Botterill said. 'The combination of presence and knowledge to work with veteran players, and would also be dedicated to interact with young players.' Seattle ranked in the bottom third of the league on the power play (23rd), faceoff winning percentage (24th) and average shots per game (25th). It was 21st on the penalty kill, an area in which Lambert helped the Leafs improve from 23rd to fourth. 'There are priorities in certain areas, but everything has to be addressed,' Lambert said. 'You can't build Rome in a day, and that's the whole process from Day 1. You start with the process, start demanding, and you start instilling your systems, your structure, your details. But definitely, our special teams have to be better. We'll better in our defensive zone. I know we will be. So that would be the start and the focus.' Lambert has had NHL coaching jobs since 2011. His only head coaching experience came with the New York Islanders, beginning at the start of the 2022-23 season and ending when he was fired in January 2024. In his only full season, the Islanders made the playoffs but were eliminated in the first round. 'You go through an experience like that, you get let go, and you have a lot of time to reflect,' he said. 'If you don't have an ego, you can say, 'Gee, I'd do this differently or that differently. Or I'd do this or that the same.' There's certain little things I'll look at and look into changing.' He was an assistant with Nashville from 2011-14, then with Washington from 2014-18, with the Capitals winning the Stanley Cup in 2018. The Islanders hired him as associate head coach prior to 2018-19. The teams he has worked for have made the playoffs 10 times. Lambert inherits a roster that includes veterans Jaden Schwartz (a team-high 26 goals last season), Jared McCann (22 goals and a team-leading 61 points), Eeli Tolvanen (23 goals) and Chandler Stephenson (38 assists). The Kraken also have highly regarded young talent such as 2023 Rookie of the Year Matty Beniers (20 goals, 23 assists) and Shane Wright (19 goals, 25 assists). 'When you look at the team and the balance, we have great talent,' Lambert said. 'We have veteran players. The non-negotiables are that we have to play the right way — that's the formula.' ___ AP NHL: recommended
