Cavs’ playoff issues run deeper than missed shots. Their worst traits continue to haunt them

TORONTO — Donovan Mitchell has a phrase he likes to use.

This is why I’m here.

Mitchell typically works that into his postgame commentary after putting on his suit, transforming into Spida Man and becoming Cleveland’s savior.

It’s happened plenty throughout this mostly spectacular four-year run.

Not Sunday.

He was a culprit in the Cavaliers’ latest springtime meltdown — a late-game disasterclass that has turned this series that once looked like a laugher, firmly in Cleveland’s control, into an inexplicable draw with Game 5 Wednesday night.

As the Cavs repeated Sunday afternoon — as if receiving the same platitude-filled talking point tutorial before meeting with reporters — they have homecourt advantage and only one team needs to win on the road to advance.

It’s not them.

Cleveland is still positioned well. It should still be favored. It will probably win this best-of-seven. But that has, at the very least, become a tangible discussion point, something that seemed implausible after the first two games in the States.

• BETTING: The over/under for Wednesday’s matchup between the Cavs and the Raptors is set at 215.5 total points on BetMGM. Our complete BetMGM Sportsbook review makes it easy to figure out how to use their platform.

Performances like Sunday — a concoction of this team’s worst qualities — are why they are labeled soft, fragile, weak and every other cruel adjective that gives plenty of pause about championship feasibility.

Forget the C word. The Cavs first have to figure out how to beat the Raptors.

“Just couldn’t hit (expletive),” Mitchell said while holding back a momentary chuckle following the 93-89 loss. “I’m not saying it’s funny. It’s just, sometimes, the answer is the shot not going in.

If only it were that simple.

Yes, the Cavs were unusually frigid, going 32 of 87 from the field and 10 of 40 from 3-point range. But the Raptors were even worse, shooting 31 of 97 overall and 4 of 30 from beyond the arc.

No team in NBA history had ever won a playoff game shooting as poorly from deep as the Raptors — until Sunday.

How does that happen?

The Cavs turned the ball over 18 times and are now the second-worst team in the playoffs when it comes to taking care of the ball.

They allowed 21 offensive rebounds, including four in the final five minutes, as bouncy rookie and postseason nuisance Collin Murray-Boyles corralled a team-high five.

Despite everything, Cleveland had an eight-point cushion under the five-minute mark, in position to steal a road win, take a commanding series lead and rip Toronto’s beating heart out like LeBron James used to — a level of barbarity that led to the renaming of Canada’s largest city (LeBronto).

According to ESPN’s win probability, Cleveland had a 91.7 percent chance of winning at that point.

And then those haunting playoff demons, which were supposed to be exorcised already, grabbed their scythes and punctured Cleveland’s soul.

Numerous Toronto second-chance opportunities, countless empty offensive possessions, repeated bricks, a plethora of defensive breakdowns and one disastrous miscue — an 8-second violation by Mitchell with about 40 seconds left — led to the Cavaliers being outscored 17-5 over the final 4:55.

Same old Cavs.

“We’re a different team, so I can’t put last year’s struggles on this,” Mitchell replied when asked about the team’s inability to close games. “We’re a different group. We’ve shown that we can close out games since we’ve made the trade. Tonight, just wasn’t one of those nights.

“Shouldn’t happen.”

No, it shouldn’t. That’s why Mitchell’s here, remember? That’s why veteran maestro James Harden was brought in at the trade deadline for playoff question mark Darius Garland. That’s why Evan Mobley was given a super max contract this past summer. That’s why the Cavs have the league’s highest-paid roster. That’s (partially) why Kenny Atkinson, a more adept tactician, replaced J.B. Bickerstaff two years ago.

“We had trouble scoring all game, but so did they,” Atkinson said. “It was one of those types of games where it’s tough to score the ball. Typical playoff game. I love our guys’ fight. I mean, we fought like crazy.”

Praising the team’s fight? After a fourth-quarter gagging? After a second consecutive loss to an undermanned longshot? Is Atkinson coaching the Washington Wizards, where heart, hustle and spirit are worth a couple moral victories?

The Cavs aren’t a collection of postseason newcomers. This is a battle-tested group, one that’s supposed to be hardened by multiple playoff failures. Their collective experience is supposed to be an unquantifiable edge.

Harden has appeared in more playoff games himself than the entire Raptors roster. Mitchell has been part of 67 playoff battles. That’s 244 playoff games between them, combined.

Teams with that much playoff knowhow shouldn’t unravel in the final two minutes of the second, third and fourth quarters, being outscored 29-2 in those six minutes.

Teams with that much playoff knowhow shouldn’t look mentally frazzled in crunch time.

Teams like that shouldn’t wilt under physical and mental pressure.

If anything, that’s the kind of game an inexperienced group like Toronto loses.

Not Sunday.

“They did what they’re supposed to do,” Atkinson explained. “You’re home, you’re supposed to win in the playoffs. That’s how this works. I don’t know. This seems like a typical playoff series to me, 4 vs. 5, [tied] 2-2. No big surprises here. No big mysteries. We definitely obviously changed some things. I think some of our changes were really good. Then we’ll go back and we’ll see.”

It all starts with franchise face Mitchell who was held to 20 points on 6 of 24 from the field while misfiring on a go-ahead floater attempt and then a game-tying 3-pointer — both in the final 30 seconds.

“I got some open looks tonight and they just didn’t fall,” Mitchell explained. “Same ones that did in Games 1 and 2. Can’t rely on makes and misses to dictate everything else. Do I wish I made more shots? For sure. But didn’t really feel like I forced a bunch. Obviously, you always have a few you want to take back, but as a whole, just understanding, hey, sometimes the shot’s not going to go, but what is everything else like? And that’s kind of where my focus is. It happens. We were still in a position to win and we didn’t.”

When asked after the loss if Mitchell felt like the two games in Toronto were a “missed opportunity,” he didn’t balk.

“One thousand percent,” Mitchell said. “You feel like you could have got one, but we didn’t. The next part of that challenge and that mental is just coming back and handling business at the crib. That’s really it. Not sitting here with our heads down.

“We’ve got to close the game. I’ve got to be better. We’ve got to be better. That’s why the ball’s in my hands, right? No confidence lost. They did their job. They protected home court. We’ve just got to go out there and do the same thing.”

At one point early in this series, Mitchell spoke about the star’s burden. He admitted it can be lonely.

But now he can share it with Harden. That was the midseason plan, anyway.

The 11-time All-Star and future Hall-of-Famer, applauded for delivering pinpoint passes like Patrick Mahomes, was ineffective Sunday. He finished with more turnovers (7) than made field goals (6). It’s the second straight game and 44th time in his playoff career doing that.

Not exactly the way to rewrite the negative playoff narrative that has followed him for nearly two decades.

Days after vowing to respond to the Game 3 trouncing, Harden made one shot in the fourth quarter and looked bothered by Toronto’s relentless pressure defense. Another postseason foible.

“The game of basketball is mental,” Harden said. “When things are going crazy, the crowd’s going crazy, they make a run, we make a run, you still got to focus on the task at hand and what you’re supposed to be doing. I think at times we were really good and sometimes we just didn’t execute down the stretch, which cost us the game. We had an opportunity last game. We had an opportunity definitely tonight to win the game. And I think we’re definitely confident about where we are.”

Confidence or hubris? Maybe a bit of both?

Whatever you call it, the Cavs haven’t earned it to this point. All they’ve earned is a negative label that can only be changed one way.