The Cleveland Cavaliers have hit a rough patch in the early portion of the season, and their latest loss saw their star player take the majority of the blame.
The Cavaliers were upset by the Charlotte Hornets on their home floor on Sunday, losing 119-111 in overtime. To make matters worse, Cleveland was outscored 8-0 in overtime, the first time in 10 years that a team has been held scoreless in an overtime period.
The team’s star guard Donovan Mitchell shouldered most of the blame for the loss when speaking with the media after the game, saying simply, “put this one on me.” Mitchell scored 17 points on just 6-24 shooting from the floor and 1-11 from three-point range while being a team-worst -12.
It was a rather uncharacteristic performance for Mitchell, who is averaging 31.3 points, and 5.4 assists per game this season while shooting 50 percent from the floor, and 39 percent from beyond the arc. Despite his gaudy numbers, the Cavaliers have limped out the gate to start the season after finishing as the Eastern Conference’s top seed just a season ago.
Mitchell and the Cavaliers will look to get back on track heading into the new calendar year. Projected to be a top Eastern Conference team this season, the Cavaliers haven’t answered the bell so far.
More NBA news:
- Danny Wolf's stock continues to rise
- Michael Porter Jr. Is lighting it up in the month of December
- Victor Wembanyama sets lofty ambitions for return
- SGA makes his feelings clear on breaking the 2015-16 Warriors 73-9 record
- Pistons' head coach forgot about Victor Wembanyama