Jeff Teague Gives Strong Warning to Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland Amid Losing Streak
It should be clear by the national reception to their current losing streak that everyone has been praying on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ downfall. Opposing fans appear to be relishing in the fact that over the last few weeks, there have been some cracks that appeared in the Cavs’ armor.
When you have a double digit increase in wins with largely the same roster, people are bound to be skeptical. Considering the embarrassing loss Cleveland suffered to the Boston Celtics last year, everyone is waiting for the postseason to truly assess their season.
The Cavaliers All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell has seen a decrease in production this season, but that just speaks volumes to how much the supporting cast has stepped up. Point guard Darius Garland is having a great bounce back season after he struggled mightily last year, and forward Evan Mobley is finally blossoming into the player Cleveland expected when they selected him third overall in 2021.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) shoots the ball against Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) in the third quarter of game three of the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. David Richard-USA TODAY Sports David Richard-USA TODAY Sports Although the players behind Mitchell have greatly improved, former All-Star point guard Jeff Teague warned him to be weary of relying on the supporting cast in the playoffs. On his Club 520 podcast,
the former NBA champion said that Mitchell and Garland must combine for at least 50 points per game in the postseason or they’ll be in trouble. He then went on say that role players don’t perform as well under the bright lights, which is usually true. The Cavs know about this issue all too well because they dealt with it last postseason. The former Utah Jazz guard did his part by pouring in nearly 30 points per game, but Garland was incredibly inefficient, and outside of that Cleveland couldn’t find any consistent offensive output.
Hopefully this season with the emergence of Mobley and Sixth Man of the Year candidate Ty Jerome, the Cavaliers will have more luck. Most teams only have about six or seven impactful players they can throw out in a seven-game series, but Cleveland can likely go nine or ten deep if Kenny Atkinson wishes. With the regular season winding down, the Cavs are just trying to get to the postseason healthy and in-rhythm. They are one of the deepest teams in the league, so if they stay true to themselves, their success should have no problem translating to the playoffs.
