No one outside of Cleveland respects our teams. Yes, on occasion you will come across a fellow fan of the Guardians and especially the Browns Backers—groups of Cleveland Browns fans that meet up and watch football together. I was actually a member of the Mobile Bay Backers for several years during one of my past lives. Furthermore, since LeBron left the second time, the Cavaliers get zero respect. And I usually agree with the national media’s narrative about our teams. Nevertheless, this year we have Donovan Mitchell, and he may in fact one day be as good as LeBron but for now he is at least in the top five. Even after scoring 71 points, Mitchell hardly gets love from the national media. Is this a Donovan Mitchell problem or is the stench of Cleveland ruining his all-time great season?
Donovan Mitchell’s 2022-2023 season isn’t being respected enough. Although Donovan continues to break records he is not being mentioned as an MVP candidate. This is nuts. Mitchell has broken some impressive NBA records set by LeBron and Kyrie. He is already number one all-time in Cavs history with the most games of at least 40 points. Mitchell is in rarified air as he continues to seal his fate for becoming one of the G.O.A. T’s. Yet, the leading national pundits such as Skip Bayless and Stephan A. Smith (SAS) continue to deny his greatness.
The unspoken agreement between NBA analysts, podcasters, and writers must be to dismiss anything dealing with Cleveland. Which entails nullifying what Mitchell has done this season. The national list of deserving award winners includes Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Though I concede that Embiid, Jokic, and Antetokounmpo are MVP caliber players, I still insist that Mitchell is the most deserving. The impact of Mitchell’s presence on the court is unmatched. Above all, he makes his teammates believe they can win every game and that is incomprehensible.
However, when the who’s who of sports talk ignore Mitchell’s influence it makes me wonder if this city is cursed. Come on, he is averaging nearly 30 points per game, and he can’t crack the top five, for most deserving of the MVP. I recently saw a clip of Dan Le Batard telling SAS that he alone is responsible for the state of sports media. I share the same feelings. SAS is sports debating and there is no denying the influence he has on the entire sports culture. For this I blame Smith alone for Mitchell’s lack of national recognition. Whenever Smith opens his big ass mouth everyone gobbles it up like the last supper. Before Mitchell stepped foot on the court to represent the Cavaliers, Smith created a narrative that Donovan Mitchell’s tenure in Cleveland is only a blip as he makes his way to New York. Consequently, ignoring the best season in Donovan Mitchell’s career.
“Donovan Mitchell who wanted to be in New York, who’s from New York, and [he] expected to be wearing a New York Knicks uniform. Is dropping 71 [points] in an NBA game, and the Knicks are giving us what”? That is the quote from Stephan A after Mitchell’s 71 pointer. If you notice he didn’t mention the Cavs, but instead took the time to change the focus to New York.
Usually, taking any message from Stephan A. Smith and doing the complete opposite would be the right call. In contrast this quote should be motivational. I declare anyone from Cleveland, or anywhere else that has ever felt disrespected because of someone’s personal vendetta. Do what makes you happy, no matter where you reside. Cleveland residents have in fact created a saying, “Cleveland against the world.” Be sure to subscribe and share these blogs and the Facebook page to anyone you dislike. lol! My medication must be kicking in, I am going to sleep.
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