The Cavs head into Wednesday night with no interest in watching the Thunder leave town with a season series sweep. After the first meeting swung late, Cleveland gets one more crack at Oklahoma City in a quick two-game stretch that wraps its 2026-27 slate against this opponent.
The spotlight, naturally, lands on Donovan Mitchell. If Cleveland is going to flip the result, it probably starts with its star looking much more like himself.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took over when the game was there to be won, and even with a 40% shooting night on more than 35 attempts, he made the plays that mattered most. The Cavs need Mitchell to answer that kind of pressure with one of his own.
So far, this has been the roughest statistical opening of Mitchell’s Cleveland run. He’s averaging 21.9 points per game, his lowest mark since arriving, after putting up 28 a night last season. He’s also turning it over 3.1 times per game, the highest rate he’s had since his final year with the Jazz.
The shot profile hasn’t helped. His field-goal percentage is down, and the decisions have looked shaky at times.
Even in the game where he handed out 11 assists, there was still a sense that he wasn’t fully choosing the right moments to attack. In the loss, he went 6-for-17 from the floor.
What’s stood out most is how often he’s settling. Mitchell has spent too much time on the perimeter lately, and while the craft is still there, Cleveland needs more of his downhill game.
His step-through has to show up more often. He can’t spend the whole night living on jumpers.
A little over 41% of his shots have come from 3-point range, which isn’t wildly different from last season, but it matters more now because he’s taking five fewer shots per game. The Cavs need him aggressive, forceful and fully in control as the primary scorer. They need him matched up with Gilgeous-Alexander in every sense.
That urgency is bigger than one game. Cleveland is 4-3 in a crowded Eastern Conference, with the Sixers and Knicks coming up this weekend.
Another loss to the Thunder would sting, and the Cavs have to show some backbone here. Kenny Atkinson has already had trouble making the right adjustments, and that’s only going to fuel louder conversations if this keeps going.
The supporting cast won’t look much different this time, either, with Peyton Watson and Jaylon Tyson still out. That puts even more on Mitchell to carry the load, and Cleveland will need the version of him it saw against the Wolves.
He was hyping up Meleek Thomas last week. Maybe he can be the running mate today.
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Sam Merrills Slump May Be A Bigger Cavs Problem Than It Looks
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At the same time, Clevelands offense has changed since the James Harden acquisition, and Merrill has not been getting quite the same motion looks that once helped him find rhythm. For a player whose game leans on movement, timing and confidence, that combination is a tough one, and it leaves the Cavs with a broader question about how much production they can still expect from him in this system. [Read more 🡒]
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The next step, though, remains on hold. Diop has yet to make his NBA debut after a preseason knee injury interrupted his path, leaving the Cavaliers to wait on a prospect they have been patient with from the start. Caldern sounded encouraged by the progress Diop has made and by the chance he could still become a useful piece for the team, but for now the real question is when that promise finally turns into a first game in a Cavaliers uniform. [Read more 🡒]
Cavs Early Struggles Are Putting One Offseason Decision Under Fire
The Cavaliers uneven start has already put a bright spotlight on one of their biggest offseason moves. After re-signing James Harden to anchor the roster, Cleveland has stumbled to a 4-4 record and has watched multiple games slip away after building leads, including losses to the Knicks, 76ers and Hawks.
Hardens early numbers have not helped quiet the conversation, either, as his impact has been harder to feel than the contract suggested it would be. With a swing rating of minus-22.6, the fit is drawing scrutiny far sooner than the Cavaliers likely expected, and the next stretch should say a lot about whether this is just a rough opening or the start of a more uncomfortable conversation. [Read more 🡒]