Donovan

Mitchell

It wasn’t Mitchell’s best game. He only had 19 points on 16 shots and didn’t light it up in any of the other categories, though he made 4-of-10 attempts from behind the 3-point line. Spida had four turnovers in 28 minutes and registered as +8. He’s been a top-25 fantasy player on the season.

Unsurprisingly, not having Damian Lillard in the lineup proved problematic for Milwaukee on Friday. In addition to struggling offensively, all the Bucks could do to slow down Mitchell was get beat to the point where Kenny Atkinson pulled the plug early in the fourth quarter. Spida has provided top-25 per-game value in 9-cat formats, trailing his Yahoo ADP (17) by a few spots. Cleveland ends Week 8 with a home game against the 76ers on Saturday.

Most of Cleveland’s fantasy mainstays recorded modest stat lines in Brooklyn, as the Cavs won the first quarter by a 37-17 margin and never looked back. Mitchell provided solid value in points, assists, steals, and 3-pointers, somewhat compensating for the limited workload. The good news for fantasy managers is that Cleveland plays two more games during Week 8, beginning with the Bucks on Friday.

Friday’s game was a routine night at the office for Mitchell, who didn’t do much more than he had to in Cleveland’s win over the Wizards. However, in his last two games, he’s now 12-of-34 from the field. This mini-slump isn’t a big deal regarding his fantasy value, given how well Mitchell has played throughout the season. Spida heads into Week 8 (Yahoo leagues) as a top-25 player in 9-cat formats and top-30 in 8-cat.

Mitchell wasn’t very aggressive finding his shot in this game, especially in the first half. That can be attributed to Evan Mobley dominating early, since they fed the hot hand some extra shots. Still, Mitchell had an effective night and was able to contribute solid numbers in this game. He only took 12 shots, which was tied for his second-lowest output this season, and he nearly recorded a triple-double for the first time this season. This was the first leg of a back-to-back, and managers should expect Mitchell to shoot the ball more in Miami on Sunday.

Mitchell only scored 19 points in their win over the Wizards on Tuesday, and while that can mostly be attributed to the lopsided score, it wasn’t a great performance for him. However, he was able to get back on track in this one to help the Cavs win their third straight game. On the defensive end, Mitchell has at least two steals in five straight games, which has his average up to 1.6 on the year. His numbers are down from last year, but he’ll continue to be one of the best players in fantasy basketball.

Mitchell’s seven assists were countered by just one turnover, and there could be more point guard responsibilities for him soon. Darius Garland exited Tuesday’s game with an apparent head injury, and he’s had such issues in the past. If Garland misses time, Mitchell becomes a player of even greater importance, with Caris LeVert’s streaming value increasing. LeVert finished Tuesday’s win with 10 points, two rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one 3-pointer in 24 minutes.

Despite a poor first half of this game, Mitchell was able to figure things out after the break. He scored five points in the first two quarters before scoring 10 in the third and 20 in the fourth quarter. He struggled mightily in Friday’s loss to Atlanta, which made his start to this game a little scary. However, he redeemed himself and helped Cleveland end their first losing streak of the season. Mitchell’s numbers are slightly down from last season, so he’ll look to build off of this performance against the Wizards on Tuesday to kick off a four-game week.

Mitchell was able to provide value in other categories in this game, but it didn’t truly make up for one of his worst shooting performances this year. That was a big reason that Cleveland dropped their second straight game against the Hawks. The Cavs still sits atop the Eastern Conference standings, and they’ll host Boston on Sunday to close out this week in a matchup for the best record in the conference. Mitchell will need to have a bounce back performance in order for Cleveland to get back in the win column.

The Cavaliers improved to 17-1 on the season with the win. Mitchell’s 26 points were tied for a game-high with Ty Jerome. He took 18 shots and was 5-of-9 from behind the 3-point line. Mitchell was +10 in 35 minutes in the 14-point win. The Cavaliers have three games in Week 6, starting with the Hawks on Wednesday.