Cavaliers Superstar Disrespected In Eastern Conference Player Rankings

Donovan Mitchell fails to crack the top five in CBS Sports' top 25 players in the Eastern Conference.

Feb 10, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) yells up the court against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second quarter at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Wevers-Imagn Images / Andrew Wevers-Imagn Images

Now is the time of the offseason when fans and analysts are focused on predictions and previews for the upcoming season. With that comes many player and team rankings, which are destined to spark controversy.

CBS Sports released its top 25 players in the Eastern Conference on Monday afternoon and ranked Cleveland Cavaliers superstar shooting guard Donovan Mitchell as the seventh-best player in the conference.

Here's what they had to about Mitchell:

"A perennial top-10 scorer in the league. Mitchell registered career highs in assists, rebounds and steals last season. He was sensational when Darius Garland was out and he assumed total control of the offense as the lone playmaker. He is virtually unstoppable when he gets going downhill as a pull-up shooter given his force, but his pull-up shooting percentages (35% overall and 30% from 3) dipped considerably last season," wrote Brad Botkin.

Feb 10, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) reacts to a call against the New Orleans Pelicans during the third quarter at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Wevers-Imagn Images / Andrew Wevers-Imagn Images

Is Mitchell the best player in the Eastern Conference? Probably not. But he still deserves to be ranked in the top five based on his individual play and what he contributes to his team's success.

Mitchell was averaging career-highs across the board through January last season, but he was sidelined for most of the games post-All-Star Break with a knee injury. He didn't quite like looking at himself in the game he did play in, which hurt the overall stats.

Mitchell was also crucial in helping an injured Cavs team peak at the second seed in February last season. Cleveland fell back down to the fourth seed for the playoffs when Mitchell was in and out of the lineup the last two months.

Yes, I'm biased, but Spida certainly deserves to be ahead of Tyrese Haliburton (ranked sixth) and Jaylen Brown (ranked fifth) in these rankings.

Mitchell was fifth in scoring last season, averaging 29.8 points a game, demonstrating his elite offensive talent, and he even took strides on defense last season and recorded a higher defensive rating (11.3) then Haliburton (118.7) and Brown (112.2).

At the end of the day, these rankings don't mean too much. But not considering Mitchell a top-five player in the East is just another example of the Cavaliers not getting the respect they likely deserve heading into this season.