Star Guard Predicted To Lead Cavaliers In Scoring Next Season

Bleacher Report anticipates Donovan Mitchell to be the Cleveland Cavaliers' top scorer during the 2024-25 NBA season.

Feb 14, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) celebrates with guard Darius Garland (10) during the second half against the Chicago Bulls at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Cavaliers' offense could look completely different next season under new head coach Kenny Atkinson. Some things will look very similar, and some may look vastly different.

One area that will very likely remain unchanged is who will be leading the offensive charge and be Cleveland's top-scoring option.

Bleacher Report predicted who they believe will be each team's top scorer during the 2024-25 NBA season, and they (unsurprisingly) projected Donovan Mitchell to be Cleveland's top scorer.

Here's what B/R's Grant Hughes had to say:

"If Donovan Mitchell doesn't lead the Cleveland Cavaliers in scoring, it'll mean something extreme happened during the 2024-25 season ... Only 12 other players have averaged at least 20.0 points per game every season since Mitchell debuted in 2017-18, and the five-time All-Star hasn't averaged fewer than 25.0 points per game since his 2019-20 season with the Utah Jazz. Barring the unforeseen, Mitchell will remain firmly entrenched as the Cavaliers' chief supplier of buckets."

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-USA TODAY Sports / Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports

It's hard to argue that anyone outside of Mitchell will lead the Cavaliers in points per game. However, Huges offers two interesting perspectives in the event that Mitchell isn't Cleveland's top scorer.

One possibility is that Spida suffers an injury that prevents him from being the shot creator he's been throughout his career. The other possibility is that Darius Garland returns to an even better form, or Evan Mobley takes a massive leap on offense.

"Mitchell slipping from the perch he's occupied since joining the Cavs could mean Darius Garland had an absolute breakout, Most Improved Player-worthy season," wrote Huges. "Or that Evan Mobley took an offensive leap so massive that even his longtime believers (points to self) couldn't have predicted it."

Anything can happen throughout an 82-game NBA season. Maybe one of those two players does take a massive jump on the offensive side of the ball. But for now, heading into the year, it makes sense to predict Mitchell as being Cleveland's top scorer.