Cavs’ internal motivation is far greater than outside noise: ‘Pressure is exciting’

The Cleveland Cavaliers are blocking out the noise. As the remaining core members of the team’s past iterations that have fallen short of their NBA playoff goals, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen are equipped to handle the ebbs and flows that come with the postseason. Kenny Atkinson and his guys are aware of what the outside world thinks of them, but the Cavs’ intrinsic motivation pushes them the hardest.

“I think just staying within the group,” Mobley told ClutchPoints after Wednesday’s practice. “Not really focus on what media has to say, what other teams, other people have to say, just worry about your group, what we’re talking about. Worry about your assignments. Just focus in on the game and everything within the lines. I think that’s the main focus in the playoffs. That kind of helps you not get distracted with all the noise going on.”

“Everybody’s got their opinion on every team in this league,” Atkinson added. “I would just say you block the outside noise, but you embrace your identity even more. I don’t think you try to fight the rhetoric because I think that could change your identity. Double down on who we are. Double down on our identity. I think you get caught up fighting that rhetoric. ‘Hey, this guy said this, or this player said this, or this pundit said this.’ It’s like, okay, they said it. Here’s who we are, guys. Let’s put it up there. Here’s our identity. Here’s what we need to do to get to the next level.”

The narrative that surrounds the Cavs, locally and nationally, is that they lack toughness and a killer instinct. In some respects, the questions are valid. This is a franchise that has had to alter its direction following three straight early postseason exits, pre-dating the Atkinson era, to get over that proverbial hump. Spectators have consistently found their targets, but there is no finger-pointing inside that building.

Cavs open NBA Playoffs vs. Raptors

The key for the players is keeping their eyes on the prize. It starts with a first-round series against the Toronto Raptors.

“I’ve been off of scrolling Twitter, so I’ll tweet and then close my phone, for about seven weeks now,” Mitchell said. “Honestly, it’s the best that I’ve ever felt. I’m sure that there’s talk going around about that question [of pressure], but to me, I’m just like, hey, I’m trying to do everything we can to win this game. And that’s really where I’m at. At the end of the day, I can’t worry about that. I think it’s more so an expectation than anything. If there wasn’t that expectation, it means we’re doing something wrong, means we’re not considered to be good.

“So for me, and for the group, man, we’re just out here trying to find ways to continue to build. And this is what we’ve been building for all year. This is another situation where we get to go out there and prove we belong, but also it’s going to come down to us. We go 16-0, phenomenal, but no team has done that. There’s going to be adversity at some point and understanding that we have what’s in this locker room. For me, it’s just we go out there and get to compete and try to win at the highest level.”

This particular upcoming run means “the world” to Mitchell. All of the preparation, the long days at Cleveland Clinic Courts, the extended road trips, and past failures are all for a chance to accomplish something special.

“You’re ready to run through the wall for it,” Mitchell said. “And I think that’s just what you’re built for. This is what you practice for. This is why you work so hard. This is why, no offense to y’all, we deal with y’all, the naysayers — and not y’all necessarily — but you deal with all of that for this right here. This is what makes it the most fun, to be honest. This is why you get out of bed every morning. So I’m excited to get working.”

Mobley feels this is one of the best versions of the Cavs he’s been part of, noting the talent and depth. Because of that, and how lasered in everybody has been, there’s not much of a burden or anxious feelings. Calm is his operative word.

“Free mind. Free focus,” Mobley said. “Been here before now, multiple times, and not feeling too much pressure. Just ready to be locked in, ready to go, and go all the way.”

“Just to go out there and prove that all the work I put in means something,” Allen added. “Show all the hours in the gym actually accumulated to something successful.”

Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro, De’Andre Hunter, Caris LeVert, Ty Jerome, and Georges Niang are no longer a part of the mix. There’s been a major roster facelift with the additions of James Harden, Keon Ellis, and Dennis Schroder at the trade deadline, as well as Thomas Bryant, Larry Nance Jr., and Tyrese Proctor in the summer. Cleveland’s organization is like a family, so these moves were not made lightly, with the highest goal in mind.

However, there’s a stronger veteran presence now, which gives the Cavs the conviction they can achieve the greatness they’ve been chasing for years.

“My experience with James so far, Donovan, since I’ve been here, those guys, they’re the most even-keel guys,” Atkinson said. “Up 20, down 20, and usually, I’m thinking of all the scenarios where we’re down or weren’t playing well. They stay calm. They stay poised. They’re like the Roger Federer’s of the world, right? Roger Federer lost 48% of his points or something. This is the NBA. You’re going to get hit. You’re going to go down eight, you’re going to go down 10. And those guys keep us even keeled.

“That makes my job easier. Once in a while, there’s a spark, and you need to up the ante in terms of emotion, but I think we have great emotional control as a squad throughout the roster. But it starts with those two guys. Evan, too, is that kind of even keel, doesn’t get too down, doesn’t get too high. That gives me more confidence because that’s the playoffs, right? You’d be down 2-0 right off the bat. We might lose the first game. How do you react? How do you respond? Those times are going to come. But I love our emotional maturity.”

James Harden is key to the Cavs staying centered

Harden has been to the postseason in each of his 17 years in the NBA, so he knows a thing or two about the roller coaster ride ahead. ClutchPoints asked the former MVP how he’s processed and pushed through it.

“Ultra confident and playing with force,” Harden said. “I think there’s a lot of ups and downs, there’s a lot of things that are predicted to go a certain way, and they switch up on you, whether it’s a game of runs or whatever the case may be. There’s things that happen throughout the course of games or series that you can’t be prepared for, but you’ve got to mentally have your mind set to where if anything happens, no matter what happens, you’re ready to still play and perform and execute.

“I think this team has been dealing with adversity all year long, and it hasn’t fazed us. So nothing changes. Go out there, be prepared for Game 1, figure out what worked, what didn’t work, and then move on from there.”

Adamant that he has a deeper, better team for the upcoming journey, Atkinson is eager to get things underway.

“This is what we signed up for,” Atkinson said. “There’s pressure and pressure in this job, pressure on coaches, pressure on players. I’ve always just been so locked into the process and kind of doubling down on that, just believe the results take care of itself. You’re doing all these things. So sure, when the game comes and the crowd, sure, there’s a ton of pressure, but it’s also what you welcome.

“Pressure is exciting. When you’re at this level, you’re competing against top teams in this league, man, it excites you. So sure, there’s a pressure, but there’s an excitement that goes with that. That’s the fun part of that, fun part of this business.”

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