Donovan Mitchell, James Harden expect ‘forceful’ Cavs response to Raptors: ‘We ain’t got no choice’

After Game 3 went to the Toronto Raptors on Thursday, the Cleveland Cavaliers will have a pivotal opportunity to swing the momentum back in their favor in Game 4 of their NBA playoff series. Both Donovan Mitchell and James Harden understand that, and the Cavs are all on the same page going into Sunday afternoon.

The operative focus is playing with more “force” to ensure the Wine and Gold return to Northeast Ohio with a two-game advantage and a chance to close the series.

“It’s either you go up 3-1, or it’s a 2-2 series, and you go back home,” Mitchell said after Saturday’s practice in Toronto. “The biggest thing is just understanding that, yeah, they had a really good game, and we didn’t, and how do we respond to that? It’s been the same message since training camp, so just another example of that. The season, regular season, those moments prepare you for situations like this, and you’re gonna go out there and execute.”

“We will respond. We will. We ain’t got no other choice,” Harden said postgame on Friday. “We didn’t expect to win 16 games in a row. So, guys [are] a little frustrated, which I get it; they’re supposed to be. We’re supposed to be. But find a way to weather the storm, figure it out, and be better for Game 4.”

Eliminating the Raptors’ top locking of their opponent’s All-Star backcourt will be the first order of business. It’s a common strategy where defenders deny the ball to would-be ball-handlers and movement shooters by positioning on the front side of the offensive player, forcing them away from screens.

Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson doesn’t want Mitchell, Harden, or anybody to accept Toronto’s coverage without a fight, and the guys all agree.

“They got on top, top locked, basically not let us try to get to the ball, which I’ve seen it before,” Harden said. “So I’ll make an adjustment and be ready.”

“Us kind of not allowing that to affect us with pressure,” Mitchell added of how to counter it. “Getting up and down the floor, starting off in the half court, and then, defensively, kind of giving them more force as well. We did a solid job of it, defensively especially. We need it for four quarters.”

Cleveland gave it away 22 times to cost itself 23 points. Harden took the brunt of the blame for the turnovers, noting he and his teammates have to be more decisive.

“That’s everything. That’s the game,” Harden said. “We get a shot up on the glass, we give ourself a chance to score the basketball, or give ourself a chance for an offensive rebound. Turnover, we don’t give any of that… I think just our spacing sometimes wasn’t right, which kind of led to our hesitation.

“And then, the later the shot clock gets, they just load up and do a good job of that, so watch film and be better for Game 4.”

Ultimately, there’s more to a loud response than tactics alone.

“Force and energy live in that same world, right,” Atkinson explained. “Force is probably more physical force. And then the energy’s the sprint battles, the 50-50 balls. I don’t want to go on a psychological rant. There’s like cognitive energy; that’s part of having energy. You have to be kind of locked in. So, we talk about it.

“I think the whole team’s on the same page. That’s good; you’ve got to get everyone. You can’t be the coach saying, “Ah, we,’ like, that BS. It’s the whole group that knows what we’ve got to correct.”

Expect the Cavs to be ready for the Raptors’ next uppercut.

“Attention to detail, executing our game plans,” Mitchell said. “It doesn’t start tomorrow, it started yesterday. I mean, I think we’ve done the things, but we’ve gotta go out there and execute our game plan.”

“It’s a very important game tomorrow,” Jarrett Allen added. “This is what we’ve been doing all year, trying to respond to adversity, trying to respond to what’s been thrown at us previously. Just coming in and playing our game in basketball, not getting down on ourselves.”

It seems Cleveland and Toronto will both come out firing in Sunday’s matinee at 1 p.m. E.T.

“I think they’re ready to react,” Atkinson said of his team’s mood. “That’s kind of in a readiness stage where they want to react. And at the end of the day, sometimes it’s just your pure emotion of losing by 20, right? There’s that. Young guys, that’s the first thing. It’s like, ‘Man, that’s not going to happen again.’

“So, I feel that, right? Like, just first reaction. And we’ve got to figure out: how do we turn that energy back to where it was Game 1 and 2?”

The post Donovan Mitchell, James Harden expect ‘forceful’ Cavs response to Raptors: ‘We ain’t got no choice’ appeared first on ClutchPoints.