Full transcript of “Cavs vs Magic | Donovan Mitchell Post Game | 03.24.2026”. Click a timestamp to open the video at that moment. Need another video? Use the YouTube transcript generator.
0:00 Hey, Donovan. What's up, Chris? >> How would you characterize your guys defensive performance tonight? >> Um, we could be better, right? Um, >> there's I think the biggest thing is I mean, obviously give up 131 points. Um, they were a little comfortable. I mean, Apollo got going, right? Um, but at the end of the day, even when we got stops, we wouldn't rebound the ball, right? Like so um it's twofold. like you know sometimes they're getting into the paint creating they're making shots and we're not doing what we need to do which is which is a fact but then also when we do do our job right then they're getting old boards and I don't know how many they had tonight 13 to R six but like you know it's it's it's one of those things where we got to find a way to you know just be
0:45 better um and we have we we we know what what it is and we'll be better and go from there. Kenny did tell us that he had a conversation with you guys in the locker room and said something along the lines of, >> you know, this is the kind of defensive effort that you guys are going to play with. It's going to be a short playoff, right? >> Um, how was that message received from Kenny? >> Um, I mean, he's not wrong. You love when a coach is honest with you. >> Um, we all have our goals and and sights on big things as you as we all know. Um, we it's on us to go out there and and fix it. And, um, the intensity is there, right? you know what I mean? But now it's the mental thinking about different things, execute game, plan execution. Um, and then like I said, when just the little things, the old boards, you know what I mean, are huge as well. It's
1:31 tough to guard for 24 and then have to guard for another 14. Um, it's giving teams second chances. >> Thank the same question. How confident are you that when you guys have to step it up a notch defensively, you guys have the capability to turn into a much better defensive? >> Very. But I don't I'm not trying to say it in that way where it's like we we'll just be there. You know what I mean? Like we have to we have to execute it. And yeah, Jay's not playing. Sure. You know, like our defense is predicated around that. Sure. Sure. But we can be better and we will. Um you know, but I don't I don't want to go on and say like, yeah, you know, you know, we we'll we'll get there. You know what I mean? Like there's 10 games. We got to get there now. And I have no doubt that we will. But and it's on us. Uh 17 guys in the locker room. unrelated
2:16 to the defense. Are you proud of the progress Sam Maril has made in finishing around? >> Yo, I was just telling him he drives like he's Giannis. Like I don't I don't know where this came from. It looks like he's back at Utah State. He literally took a layup and like curled into a ball to brace for a fall. It was just never seen anything like it. Um, no, it's he's he's you just like the level of confidence we all have in him and he's like I said, you all know he can shoot, but he's when he's able to get there, get downhill and now he's collapsing the defense, then it's like, do you stay do you staying home on me and James? You staying home on EV? Now he's able to get down to the rim. Similar to Max in in that fashion, right? So, I think it definitely makes us tougher uh to guard offensively as a team. Uh, for sure. >> D, >> one of the things Max said in the locker room is that defensively it's all about mentality and mindset. What does it take for this group to shift into that
3:02 defensive mindset the rest of the season? >> Well, I mean, when you when you have a a win like this that doesn't feel like a win. I think that definitely helps, right? And we have guys who are competitive, guys who are hungry, guys who want to win in that locker room. And I think that's the overall feel. It's like, yeah, we won this game, but you know, you have that feeling in the back of your head, you know, or in the front of your brain, excuse me. It's like, we could be better, right? Like there's it's on us to go out there and and do that. Um, so I have no, like I said, I have no doubt we will, but you know, like Max said, it's a it's a mentality. It's a it's a decision. Um, and then when you do it, you got to finish. You got to finish the the possession. Um, because like I said, it becomes tougher, right? Like, you know what I mean? Even if teams make shots, when you play good defense, like, all right, cool. Like, you know, the process more more than
3:48 anything else. >> You said that sometimes it doesn't always feel like a win. How frequently have you felt like that? >> I wouldn't say a lot. I think this is just more so because we know who we can be and a lot of our mishaps uh where our is controllable stuff, right? Like I speak for myself the first play of the third quarter, um Ben Carroll drives baseline. I try to go for a steal, but I don't go for a steal. I get caught halfway and then Des Desmond Bane gets a he gets a wide open up a three. He misses. But like those are little things like a mental thing like no Don like stay stay you know stay poised stay in your gap and let the bigs do their job. Um another one for me and like I said I'm always critical and obviously it's not just me but like in the corner um I get screened in on a
4:36 flare and there's no room for any for to go anywhere. So I have to know like to get on the other side of the screen and be there on a contest, right? Like those are the little things that's you know potentially six points right there that you give up. And I I think I gave up the corner three on that one. And it's like, yeah, we can go down and get a bucket and score, but like over time, like that's that's the type of things we we as a group, you know, have to be uh conscious about. >> How's your eye doing? >> I mean, I can see now, so that's I mean, finally, it's been a few games, but um no, it's good. Um it's been, you know, a interesting few days. You know, doctor said I'm I'm fine, but definitely if you close this eye and versus this eye, it's definitely a little blurry, but it worked out tonight. So, I think I'm getting better. >> It doesn't look very good.
5:22 >> I know. Everybody keeps, especially my mom, she keeps letting me know that for sure. She's like, "Oh, man." Every text message, like every she takes a picture of the screen, but um this right now looks way worse than than what it is. Um I would say Milwaukee and I I don't know if you guys saw I had glasses on in the second half for the Chicago game because those are two rough games for me. U not going to lie. Even um what did we just play? >> Thank you. Even that one is like still, you know, still trying to, you know, figure it out. But hey, get out there. It's not bad. I'll be fine. So, I'm good. >> Okay. >> Um I'm not trying to get you to make an excuse. Uh >> oh. You guys are averaging whatever you're averaging over this streak. like you're scoring Tom >> and you've won four in a row and the
6:07 first three wins were against teams that are not going to be in the playoffs. >> Yeah. >> And you guys probably can't get higher than four realistically. >> So, you're just kind of in this place schedule. >> Does any of that make it harder to put the effort in on defense? >> No. Um I don't I don't think it's that. I mean, if we're being honest, like as much as we have to be better, I'm glad we're in these positions, we have to thug our way out of these games. Like even Chicago, right? I didn't play, but like being up 29, great. But having to execute in the fourth, right? Having a good film session, having to execute. We don't want to be in the position. Like I want to preface that, but now that we're here, it's like, okay, let's execute. You know what I mean? Let's execute. We got six defensive stops in a row in New
6:52 Orleans. So, it's there, right? So, I mean, this is that's that's why this this loss or this win, excuse me, feels like different because it's like, all right, it's there, you know, so now we got to find a way to continuously do even tonight up eight, up three, you know, how are we executing? You know, last year we were blowing teams out by 20, 30. Um, and I think this is more of a realistic scenario. I'm not saying this is what we want to do every game. Yeah, for sure we want to come blow teams out, but I think it also on the flip side, on a positive note, it gives us a chance to execute in these. All four games have been that way, right? Milwaukee was like that. um New Orleans, Chicago, and then tonight, right? It's everything has been execution, execution, execution. Um which allows us to then say we have to be better. You know what I mean? Because we shouldn't be in this scenario for some of these games. And you know, that's no disrespect to who we've played, but like for us to be there, it's like, okay, how
7:38 can we execute? What can we do? And put it on the film session, we'll talk about it, and we'll find a way to be better. [clears throat] >> You guys have been a top 10 defense for a lot of your time here. This year you guys have been lagging a little bit more towards the middle. At what point at what point do you figure you're a middle defense through March is it possible to turn it up or not the last leg of the season? >> Yeah, I think so. And I think I mean a lot of that and I don't know this and I could be totally wrong. So please tell me if I am the first four, five months of the season, we we got here throwing different things out there trying to figure things out. So that was obviously tough, you know what I mean? and that and then when you come into a situation where you make a change right halfway through the year and this is not an excuse we have to be better
8:23 defensively but I think that number can kind of be looked at differently because of what was what we were going through. Um but also on the flip side, yeah, I think we can take a step. I think it's it's it's it's there. Um like I said in New Orleans end of the game we got six straight stops. So like you know it's there and we just got to figure it out as a collective 1 through 17. Um but it definitely can for sure. And he said he wants to see the leaders of the team take ownership of of the defensive side of the ball. How comfortable do you feel having hard conversations with your team? >> 1000%. Like you know we we're in timeouts discussing and I think that's what's what's great about this group is >> it's it's not combative, right? It's it's it's and you if I don't know if you guys see the sideline like there are times we're in the huddle and we're talking things out and that's what
9:10 that's what it needs to be, right? Like the first thing, like I told you, the Desmond Bane 3 I gave up. The first thing Max Truce walked up is like, "Don, what the hell are you doing?" Like, you know what I mean? Stay home. Like, you know what I mean? Those are the conversations you have. So, we're no issue having these conversations. You know, you got guys who are mature and understand like, "Hey, like this is this is what we need to we need to do and have no issue whether it's Kenny, whether it's us." Um, so there's no there's no hard feelings, not that. We're trying to win the game and we're all in this together. Need to hold each other accountable. >> New guys, >> 10,000%. Especially James. Um James is coming in film sessions doing the same thing. Dennis, Keon as well. Like so we all we're all communicative and I think um I think that's what makes those guys those three additions really good for us because you know they're coming into here and Max myself, Sam, Kenny, whoever
9:55 is vocalizing like, hey James, you need to be here or Dennis you need to be here and it's not like a you know it's no it's not like a a personal thing and that's a testament to their mental where they want to be right. Um, and so yeah, I don't I don't have I don't think any of us have any problem holding each other accountable at all.
