<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-min-lane-thomas-guardians-grand-slam');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell loses his mind over Lane Thomas’ Guardians grand slam');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Donovan-Mitchell-loses-his-mind-over-Lane-Thomas-Guardians-grand-slam.jpg"></figure><h1>Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell loses his mind over Lane Thomas’ Guardians grand slam</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-13T06:32:42-07:00">October 13th, 6:32am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-13T06:32:42-07:00">October 13th, 6:32am</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>It’s no secret that Cleveland Cavaliers superstar Donovan Mitchell loves baseball. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-mets-fan-donovan-mitchell-painful-admission-new-york-lineup">Although Mitchell loves his</a> New York Mets most of all, he’s quickly embraced the Cleveland Guardians as his second team. So, when the Guardians took on the Detroit Tigers in Game 5 of the American League Divisional Series, Mitchell ensured he was there with his Cavs teammates. The game’s most significant moment was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-lane-thomas-grand-slam-tarik-skubal-mlb-world-buzzing">Lane Thomas’ grand slam</a> off Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, which gave Cleveland the lead they never gave up. Lucky enough for Cavs and Guardians fans, Mitchell <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1845214998026436984" rel="noopener">was live streaming during the grand slam</a> and had an incredible reaction and viewpoint of the stadium as it erupted.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Donovan Mitchell's reaction to Lane Thomas' grand slam 😭😭</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/spidadmitchell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@spidadmitchell</a>) <a href="https://t.co/RfeY7G2R1n">pic.twitter.com/RfeY7G2R1n</a></p><p>— MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1845214998026436984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 12, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Thomas slugged only .390 after his midseason trade to the Guardians but has been a difference-maker in October. This latest highlight might put him in rarified air from now on. The game was tied 1-1 at the bottom of the fifth inning when Skubal threw a 97-mile-per-hour pitch toward the at-bat Thomas. The Guardians slugger swung and hit a high ball deep into the left side of the field, resulting in a home run.</p><p>Thomas’ play is even more impressive because he did it off a pitch from a star like Skubal. Through the series’ first two games, Skubal threw seven innings of scoreless baseball, allowing three hits and no walks while striking out eight. Skubal joined former Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander as the only pitcher in franchise history to have a playoff outing of seven-plus innings with zero walks and no more than three hits.</p><p>Although the Tigers kept scrapping, the Guardians eventually clinched their ticket to the American League Championship Series (ALCS), where they’ll face the New York Yankees.</p><h2><b>October is going to be red hot for the Cavs and Guardians</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Donovan-Mitchell-Guardians.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Cleveland opens the ALCS on Monday at Yankee Stadium, with the first pitch scheduled at 7:38 p.m. ET. The Yankees are 4-2 against the Guardians this year and have a <a href="https://stathead.com/baseball/vs/cleveland-guardians-vs-new-york-yankees" rel="noopener">15-12 edge</a> all-time in the playoffs.</p><p>Mitchell and the Cavs will be busy while the Guardians are kicking things off against the Yankees. The Cavs are getting ready to start the NBA season, but they might not be able to catch Games 1 and 2 in New York. However, Mitchell has gone from Cleveland to New York to catch Mets games in the preseason. So, the superstar could get the band together to bring some Cleveland support into hostile territory.</p><p>But the Cavs will sadly be on the road when the Guardians return home to play at Progressive Field. Sure, the Cavs will face the Detroit Pistons in Detroit right in between Games 2 and 3. So, there’s always a chance that Mitchell and his teammates can catch a game or two in person. Unfortunately, the Cavs will be in the Windy City to face the Chicago Bulls during Game 4.</p><p>Thankfully, the Cavs are done with preseason action after that. So, Mitchell and his teammates could be at Progressive Field for Game 5 of the ALCS. However, Mitchell’s Mets are playing in the NLCS, which might make balancing the Guardians and Mets even more difficult for the baseball superfan.</p><p>Either way, October is going to be red-hot in Cleveland. The Guardians could be opening the World Series while the Cavs have their regular-season home opener. The last time that happened was during the 2016 World Series. Hopefully, if Cleveland returns, they will bring another championship to the city. It’d be an excellent way for Mitchell and the Cavs to try and do the same on the court.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell loses his mind over Lane Thomas’ Guardians grand slam

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-bold-championship-take-ahead-2024-25-season');   ga('set', 'title', 'Donovan Mitchell’s bold Cavs championship take ahead of 2024-25 season');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Donovan-Mitchells-bold-championship-take-ahead-of-2024-25-season.jpg"></figure><h1>Donovan Mitchell’s bold Cavs championship take ahead of 2024-25 season</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-10T14:56:53-07:00">October 10th, 2:56pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-10T14:56:53-07:00">October 10th, 2:56pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor for ClutchPoints and Cavs Nation, as well as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cavs News</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Cleveland Cavs All-Star <a href="https://cavsnation.com/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-immediate-reaction-150-3-million-contract-extension">Donovan Mitchell agreed to a three-year,$150.3 million extension</a>, securing his future with the Cavs as they pursue their second championship in over eight years. In his recovery from a left calf injury, Mitchell is eager to begin the regular season. Proclaiming the 2024-25 Cavs are championship contenders when asked about the Cavs’ new coach, Kenny Atkinson, suggesting an increased offensive role for Evan Mobley, in a recent interview with ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, per NBA on ESPN’s X, formerly known as Twitter, post.</p><p>“I think it helps. I think we were 23rd or 24th in pace last year, and Kenny [Atkinson] has spoken about it with myself,” Mitchell said. “When he got the job, the four of us spoke about ways to find it, and a lot of it is pace. Playing with pace, get out, and push. I think we’re a championship contender.”</p><p>With everything the five-time All-Star has accomplished throughout his seven-year NBA career, Mitchell hopes to leave behind a storied legacy in Cleveland. He knows the best way to reach that goal is to capture a championship soon.</p><p>“At the end of the day, all that stuff is great, but whether it’s fair or not, you’re judged on rings, you’re judged on championships,” Mitchell added. “That’s what you play this game for. You play to be the best.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"I think we're a championship contender."</p><p>Donovan Mitchell is CONFIDENT in the Cavs this upcoming season 👀🏆</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNNBA</a>)<a href="https://t.co/RXV6249DDi">pic.twitter.com/RXV6249DDi</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1844477761592885563?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 10, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Donovan Mitchell connects with Cavs new coach Kenny Atkinson</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Cavs-head-coach-Kenny-Atkinson-.jpg"><figcaption>David Richard-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>With championship aspirations, Cavs All-Star Donovan Mitchell had significant conversations with his new head coach, Kenny Atkinson. These conversations undoubtedly extended beyond getting Evan Mobley extended touches on offense, as Mitchell most likely talked about winning his first NBA championship. Atkinson is a veteran head coach and former assistant to Steve Kerr and the 2022 champion Golden State Warriors.</p><p>Meanwhile, Mitchell has embraced Cleveland culture and believes in the direction the Cavs organization is heading.</p><p>“I think people don’t understand. When you sign that contract, yes, you’re signing to be with the organization, my teammates, who I love; we’re a family. But, also, this is a life decision,” Mitchell said. “Cleveland is somewhere I genuinely like to be. I’m watching the Browns. I’m watching the Guardians. I knew for a while. It was just a no-brainer.”</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavaliers-news-evan-mobley-secures-monster-extension-deal-with-cleveland">Mobley secured a five-year, $224 million extension</a> over the summer as Cleveland committed long-term to not one but a few members of its starting lineup, including starting center Jarrett Allen, who inked a three-year, $91 million extension during the offseason. After falling to the Chicago Bulls 116-112 in their preseason opener, the Cavs will host the Pacers on Thursday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Donovan Mitchell’s bold Cavs championship take ahead of 2024-25 season

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-bring-wnba-back-to-cleveland');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell pushing to bring WNBA back to Cleveland');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Donovan-Mitchell-wants-to-bring-WNBA-back-to-Cleveland.jpg"></figure><h1>Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell pushing to bring WNBA back to Cleveland</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-06T06:52:19-07:00">October 6th, 6:52am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-06T06:52:19-07:00">October 6th, 6:52am</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The WNBA is expanding. The Golden State Valkyries will be the 13th team to be <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wnba-news-golden-state-expansion-team-picks-unique-name-that-marvel-fans-will-love">added for the 2025 WNBA season</a>. New <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wnba-news-league-announces-massive-portland-expansion-move">franchises in Portland</a> and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wnba-news-cathy-engelbert-reveals-why-toronto-next-expansion-team">Toronto have also been announced</a>. However, one Cleveland Cavaliers star doesn’t think the WNBA should stop expansion there. Recently, Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell shared that he believes Cleveland would be a good spot for another addition.</p><p>“I think Cleveland definitely deserves a WNBA team,” Mitchell said following Cavs practice at IMG Academy on Friday afternoon. “It’s big time for Portland and San Francisco to add one. But Cleveland is a perfect sports city for it. The WNBA is at an all-time high, and I love the competition. Been this way for a while, and I think people are now starting to pay attention finally.”</p><p>To bring that number to 16 teams by 2028, the WNBA is expected to consider Philadelphia, Nashville, South Florida, and Denver. Even though there hasn’t been any chatter about Cleveland, Mitchell said he would spearhead those efforts in any way possible to bring the WNBA back to Cleveland.</p><p>“I would love to be part of that [franchise in Cleveland] for sure if that ever happens,” Mitchell said. “It’s been great basketball. It’s become more national. I feel like us as players, we’ve been there from the jump. I think it’s great that the world is finally starting to see what we all see.”</p><p>WNBA viewership and attendance have been at record levels this season. The popularity of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese plays a large role in that. With emerging talent like Paige Bueckers entering the league next season, that popularity will likely only grow. To Mitchell’s credit, the Cavs superstar might not be far off with Cleveland taking another shot at the WNBA.</p><h2><b>The history of the Cavs and Rockers playing in Cleveland</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Donovan-Mitchell-Cavs-WNBA-Game.jpg"><figcaption>Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Cleveland was home to the Cleveland Rockers from 1997 through 2003. The Rockers were one of the WNBA’s eight inaugural teams. Gordan Gund, who previously owned the Cavs, <a href="https://www.cleveland19.com/story/1250642/cavaliers-break-ties-with-wnbas-rockers/" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener">couldn’t find a buyer for the team in 2002</a>, so the Rockers folded at the end of the 2003 WNBA season.</p><p>The Rockers’ namesake is a nod to the recently opened Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame and Cleveland’s name as the city of rock and roll. In their inaugural season, the Rockers went 15-13, which, like the Cavs in 1997, wasn’t good enough to make the playoffs that year. However, the Rockers and the Cavs bounced back the following season, making the playoffs in their respective leagues.</p><p>In 1998, the Rockers fared even better, going 20-10 to win the five-team Eastern Conference. However, they lost the semifinals to Phoenix, dropping a deciding third game. That year, the Rockers’ peak attendance was 10,350 fans per game. The Cavs would go 47-35, losing to the Indiana Pacers in the NBA playoffs first round.</p><p>Things bottomed out for the Rockers in 1999, as they went 7-25. Things were just as bad for the Cavs during the 1998-99 season, where Cleveland went 22-28 in a lockout-shortened season. After 1999, both the Rockers and the Cavs went in separate directions. Cleveland’s WNBA team would go on its deepest-ever playoff run, losing in the Conference Finals in 2000. The Rockers then made the playoffs in two of their final three seasons in Cleveland.</p><p>The Cavs, meanwhile, continued to bottom out until they selected LeBron James in the 2003 NBA Draft. When James’s rookie season with the Cavs began, Cleveland’s NBA fortunes would dramatically turn around. Unfortunately, the Rockers wouldn’t have the same fate with the team folding months into James’s rookie Cavs campaign.</p><p>So, Mitchell has the history to bring the Rockers back to Cleveland. More than twenty years later, could Cleveland, like Portland, get a do-over? If Mitchell stays true to his vision, it could happen sooner rather than later.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell pushing to bring WNBA back to Cleveland

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/exclusive-iman-shumpert-hits-cavs-harsh-donovan-mitchell-reality');   ga('set', 'title', 'Exclusive: Iman Shumpert hits Cavs with harsh Donovan Mitchell reality');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0Iman-Shumpert-on-Cavs-Ceiling-with-Donovan-Mitchell0.jpg"></figure><h1>Exclusive: Iman Shumpert hits Cavs with harsh Donovan Mitchell reality</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-05T11:50:11-07:00">October 5th, 11:50am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-05T11:50:11-07:00">October 5th, 11:50am</time><address><a>DJ Siddiqi</a>DJ Siddiqi is a features writer for ClutchPoints, with over 13 years of experience covering the NFL, NBA, and NCAA Football. Siddiqi has bylines at Forbes, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report, and Heavy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Iman Shumpert is a big fan of the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-donovan-mitchell-reveals-when-he-knew-hed-stay-in-cleveland">Cleveland Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell</a> — but he believes there’s a ceiling with him as the lead man.</p><p>Shumpert — who is known for <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-iman-shumpert-makes-pick-between-lebron-james-2020-lakers-2016-cavs">winning a championship</a> with the Cavs back in 2016 — explained that while Mitchell is one of the top players in the league, his undersized frame may limit his team’s chances once they get to the playoffs.</p><p>“Donovan Mitchell is one of those players,” says Shumpert in a one-on-one interview while speaking <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/djsiddiqi/2024/10/02/nba-champion-iman-shumpert-details-his-new-show-taking-one-for-the-team-and-his-transition-into-entertainment/" rel="noopener">on behalf of his new show, <i>Taking One For The Team</i></a>. “He’s just a special player, a special dynamic. I think he pulls a lot of big moments out, I just think he’s undersized and he might have to switch his approach in the playoffs. Because in the playoffs, everything is about matchups and everything is about what are we going to live and die with?”</p><p>The 34-year-old shooting guard — Iman Shumpert hasn’t played a game since 2021, <a href="https://rg.org/news/basketball/nba-champion-iman-shumpert-on-retirement-and-his-thoughts-on-lakers-drafting-bronny-james" rel="noopener">but says he’s open to playing again and is not retired</a> — discussed in further detail what he means by that.</p><p>“People don’t know it, but there’s a lot of times when the player think he’s getting off and think he’s playing the game of his life, and we’re really just leaving you open because our game plan is to not let this guy over here that really kills us at the end of every game — we’re going to let him be cold all game where he hasn’t shot a ball at all — and you keep scoring,” explained Shumpert.</p><p>The Cavaliers have emerged as a playoff team during each of Mitchell’s first two years with the club, and individually, he’s earned back-to-back All-Star berths along with an All-NBA selection at the conclusion of the 2022-23 season. However, the Cavs have failed to advance past the Eastern Conference semifinals with Mitchell leading the way, which is very similar to how his tenure with the Utah Jazz went, as they never advanced past the semifinals with Mitchell and Rudy Gobert as their star duo.</p><p>Shumpert explains the strategy from opposing teams on how to limit a Mitchell-led team is by letting him score and icing out the other players.</p><p>“But we don’t care, because we’re not losing,” says Iman Shumpert when a team utilizes this strategy on Mitchell in the playoffs. “We’re just going back and forth like, ‘Ya’ll don’t play defense. Our literal game plan is to ice out, make this other player think he got it and then we’re going to trap him at the end of the game.'”</p><p>“That’s the playoffs. When Donovan realizes how to play a game within a game — because he’s just playing the purity of the game — he’s not playing a game within a game. He needs to understand that. I don’t want to drift off too hard, but at the end of the game, we shouldn’t be able to funnel you into this over here and I think that right now, he’s got to add something to his game and to keep people from doing that because he’s undersized.”</p><p>As a member of the Cavs, Mitchell is the No. 1 option with point guard Darius Garland as the No. 2 scoring option. Mitchell averaged 26.6 points per game while Garland averaged 18.0 points per game during the 2023-24 season.</p><p>While the Cavaliers’ type of personnel likely won’t allow Mitchell to play any other way, Shumpert suggests that if the 28-year-old guard were to play with a bigger guard — someone like Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks — it would mean more postseason success for Mitchell.</p><p>“He needs to go somewhere with a big point guard,” says Iman Shumpert. “There has to be a big point guard. If he had Luka, now he can deal with the defensive loss on height difference, but he can play the combo spot better than the official two-guard. I need him to back and forth, playing point and two and I need that big point guard to be predominantly the distributor, because Donovan is a quick pull if you give him space, he’s pulling. He doesn’t take disrespect well at all.”</p><p>“I think that people run into the mistake of not presenting them with somebody that could fill in the little holes. I’m just gonna play the two. But he doesn’t need to be guarding, he can jump, he can get blocks, he’s gonna do stuff like that. He doesn’t need to be guarding somebody that is gonna run his legs down and throw at him every possession. That’s pretty much every two-guard in the league and they’re gonna go at you every time they touch the ball. I think he has to deal with that a little bit too much. You need a point guard that’s bigger, that can hide that for him and take a little pressure off what me and Kyrie used to do (in Cleveland).”</p><p>Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million contract extension in the offseason following persistent trade rumors. With Mitchell appearing to be locked into Cleveland for the foreseeable future, they likely have a ceiling unless they make a major move to bring in a big guard to take the pressure off Mitchell and cover up for his defensive deficiencies.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Exclusive: Iman Shumpert hits Cavs with harsh Donovan Mitchell reality

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-stunned-4-word-reaction-pete-alonso-hr-mets-brewers');   ga('set', 'title', 'Donovan Mitchell’s stunned 4-word reaction to Pete Alonso’s HR in Mets-Brewers');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Donovan-Mitchells-stunned-4-word-reaction-to-Pete-Alonsos-HR-in-Mets-Brewers.jpg"></figure><h1>Donovan Mitchell’s stunned 4-word reaction to Pete Alonso’s HR in Mets-Brewers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-03T21:30:15-07:00">October 3rd, 9:30pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-03T21:30:43-07:00">October 3rd, 9:30pm</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sportswriter who is comfortable covering many different sports. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Other</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Although Donovan Mitchell is only 28 years old, he has lived through an abundance of pitfalls and heartbreak during <a href="https://cavsnation.com/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-drops-2-word-reaction-francisco-lindor-home-run">his New York Mets fandom</a>. His father has worked with the MLB franchise for 25 years, so the Cleveland Cavaliers star has been bound to loyalty and agony for much of his baseball-watching life. On Thursday night, however, the Orange and Blue gifted the five-time All-Star another unforgettable memory.</p><p>Mets slugging first baseman Pete Alonso, who had been quiet in the 2024 MLB playoffs thus far and did not hit a home run in his last 49 at-bats, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mets-news-pete-alonso-clutch-home-run-brewers">launched the ball</a> over the wall with one out in the ninth inning. The three-run dinger ultimately boosted the scrappy club to a wild 4-2 comeback victory versus the Milwaukee Brewers in a do-or-die Game 3 of the National League Wild Card Series.</p><p>Mitchell has enjoyed some of his own adrenaline-inducing moments in the NBA, but he, like the entire Mets fan base, <a href="https://twitter.com/spidadmitchell/status/1842017850669621285" rel="noopener">could not contain his excitement</a> after witnessing the clutch, season-extending homer. “OHHHHH MY GODDDD PETEEEEEEEEE,” he posted on X.</p><h2><b>Can Donovan Mitchell and the Cavs enjoy their own heroics in 2024-25?</b></h2><p>The scars that Queens wears will not instantly vanish after this euphoric moment, but they will be much less noticeable. With this hard-fought thriller in the books, New York could be primed for another historic, logic-defying postseason run. While nothing can replace the emotions that came from the miraculous World Series wins in 1969 and 1986, there is a special aura surrounding the 2024 Mets.</p><p>And Donovan Mitchell is glad to be witnessing it. He will surely try to draw inspiration from Pete Alonso and the rest of this group, as Cleveland prepares for <a href="https://cavsnation.com/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-gets-100-real-on-cleveland-expectations">a new NBA campaign</a>. The Cavs have spent their fair share of time in the heartbreak hotel over the years, so much that they probably passed the Mets in the hall on their way to the bar. They are hoping to seize their own big-game brilliance this season.</p><p>While the Cavaliers did not make a ton of noise in the 2023 NBA playoffs, they finally proved they could win a series in the 21st Century without LeBron James. Now, they have to take another leap forward. Maybe the Mets can reward Mitchell’s allegiance by sprinkling some of their pixie dust on Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.</p><p>They better save some for themselves, though, as they get set for a huge showdown with the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL Division Series. Mitchell will hopefully be able to catch Game 1 on Saturday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>