Despite a historic regular season and a dominant first-round sweep, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ early playoff exit has drawn heavy criticism—most recently from ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins.
On an episode of the Road Trippin’ podcast, Perkins directly criticized Donovan Mitchell, holding him accountable for the team’s second-round loss and the firing of former head coach J.B. Bickerstaff.
“Donovan Mitchell, we don’t want to hear it, brother,” Perkins said during the segment. “You got a coach fired… This is a fact. You had no communication with that man while he was there.”
The Cavaliers finished the 2024–25 regular season with a 64–18 record, securing the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and clinching their first division title without LeBron James since 1976.
They opened the playoffs by sweeping the Miami Heat, but their season unraveled against the Indiana Pacers, who eliminated them in five games in the second round.
Perkins took aim at Mitchell’s postgame comments from earlier in the playoffs, questioning his leadership and track record.
“A Donovan Mitchell-led team has never been to the Conference Finals,” Perkins said, via HoopsHype. “Soon as [Bickerstaff] got fired, you signed a contract extension, right?”
Mitchell played 71 games during the regular season and averaged 24.0 points, 5.0 assists, and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting 44.3% from the field.
In the playoffs, he elevated his scoring to 29.6 points per contest but saw dips in efficiency and playmaking as the Cavaliers struggled to create offense in the half court against Indiana’s defense.
Following Bickerstaff’s dismissal in May 2024, the Cavaliers hired Kenny Atkinson, under whom the team opened the season with a 15–0 record—tied for the best start in franchise history.
Despite the promising start and strong overall performance during the regular season, Cleveland’s inability to reach the Eastern Conference Finals for a second straight year raised questions about the team’s ceiling with Mitchell as its primary star.
The loss to Indiana marked the second consecutive season in which Cleveland was eliminated in the second round, fueling speculation about long-term roster changes.
