Donovan Mitchell has plenty of reasons to be excited ahead of the 2023-24 season. Not only did the Cleveland Cavaliers give him a new contract, but they also hired a new coach who would better align with how he wants to play.
While these changes don’t necessarily make the Cavaliers instant favorites to make the NBA Finals out of the Eastern Conference, it improves their chances of breaking through. After all, a great coaching scheme and the right players could be all it takes to beat even the strongest teams in the Eastern Conference.
While Mitchell and company are preparing for the coming season, he made a guest appearance on a podcast and talked about which teams he thinks will make the 2025 NBA Finals from the Western Conference.
Donovan Mitchell thinks the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder are favorites to make the NBA Finals
Mitchell appeared on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast and talked about his team and the NBA. One of the talking points in the episode was which teams would make the NBA Finals.
He gave two answers on which squads he thinks have what it takes to make it all the way to the Finals from the West: the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Per Cavaliers Nation’s Matt Battaglino:
“I would say it’s probably gon’ be Minnesota or OKC. I think Minnesota, they some dogs,” Mitchell said. “I think they figured it out too about themselves. They made some trades and made some different acquisitions and all that, but they figured it out. OKC adding Alex Caruso, I don’t think people really understand what that does for that lineup. You’ve already got [Cason] Wallace over there, you’ve got Lu Dort, Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander]’s not a bad defender himself. You add Alex Caruso to that lineup.”
His choices make a lot of sense. The Timberwolves proved in the most recent playoffs that they’re no slouches when it comes to games. It will be tough for any team in the West to take them down without fully exhausting the limits of their squads.
Meanwhile, the Thunder are the most exciting team to watch in the postseason. Donovan Mitchell made a great point in calling Caruso a coup for the young Thunder squad. Moreover, the fact that most of the team’s core is below 25 years old is a terrifying prospect for the rest of the league.
Will Mitchell lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Finals?
It’s hard to say if the Cleveland Cavaliers will be able to make the Finals with teams like Boston, New York, and Philadelphia all boasting terrifying lineups of their own. It also doesn’t help that some analysts don’t believe in the team’s current core of players.
However, Cavs fans can count on Mitchell to do everything he can to force the team into a deep playoff run. He did a spectacular job leading the Cavs last season, averaging 26.6 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 6.1 APG, and 1.8 SPG on 46.2% FG and 36.8% 3FG.
As long as Atkinson manages to build the scheme correctly and the Cavs manage to get more suitable players in via trade, there’s no reason for the Cavs to not make the Eastern Conference Finals at the very least.
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