Donovan Mitchell has never missed the playoffs. But he's also never made the conference finals. That painful reality hit home again Friday night when the Detroit Pistons rolled past the Cleveland Cavaliers, 115-94, in Game 6 of their second-round series. The win forces a decisive Game 7 back in Detroit on Sunday, keeping the Pistons' season alive and sending a jolt through the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Mitchell wasn't the only Cavalier to struggle, but his off night was the biggest reason Cleveland lost at home for the first time this postseason. It also shone a harsh spotlight on a troubling trend: Mitchell has now lost six straight Game 6s, including four close-out games, a streak that dates back to his time with the Utah Jazz in the 2020 bubble.
In 37 minutes, Mitchell had more shot attempts than points and as many turnovers as assists. The Cavaliers were outscored by 25 points when he was on the floor—the worst plus/minus on the team. His final stat line told the story: 18 points on 6-of-20 shooting from the field, including just 2-of-6 from beyond the arc, to go with four rebounds, three assists, and three turnovers. It was the third time in 13 playoff games this year that he's been held under 20 points and the third time he's shot worse than 40 percent.
"I can't dwell on it," Mitchell told reporters after the game. "I missed shots tonight. Do I think some of them were tougher shots that I could have gotten better looks? Sure. But I could say that about every game. I'm not here to look at the fact that I missed shots. It's just the overall force and impact of the game. Tonight I missed shots. I've been making them most every game this series and tonight I didn't. I'm not worried about that. It's more so everything else."
"But yeah, we missed an opportunity," he continued. "We can't do anything about it. We gotta go out there and win on the road."
Mitchell's performance was all over the map in the first round against Toronto, but his inconsistency has been especially glaring in this series against Detroit. Through six games, he's averaging 28.5 points on 45 percent shooting from the field and just 28.3 percent from three, along with 5.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 2.3 turnovers per game.
Even within single games, the swings have been dramatic. In Game 4, Mitchell managed just four points on 1-of-8 shooting in the first half—then exploded for 39 points on 12-of-18 shooting in the second half. That kind of volatility makes it tough for Cleveland to build any sustained rhythm.
A big reason for Mitchell's struggles? Pistons defensive stopper Ausar Thompson. One of the league's most versatile young defenders, Thompson has used his length, quickness, and relentless energy to disrupt Mitchell's timing and force him into tough shots. In Game 6, Thompson's pressure was relentless, and Mitchell never found his footing. For a Cavaliers team that leans heavily on its star guard, that's a problem that needs solving—and fast—with a winner-take-all Game 7 looming.