Donovan Mitchell names three key players who changed Cavaliers' NBA Playoffs run

Mitchell gets real on NBA Playoffs impact of Ellis, Harden, and Schroder for Cavaliers

Usually, stars get all the credit for when a team does extremely well in the NBA Playoffs. Donovan Mitchell thinks otherwise. Coach Kenny Atkinson has ensured that the ball moved around the team, especially against the Pistons. This is why the Cavaliers superstar posits that Keon Ellis, James Harden, and Dennis Schroder have been crucial in helping them gain momentum, via Joe Vardon of The Athletic.

"Of course … you want to win, you want to get to the highest level, and it’s more of an incentive. It’s not a distraction, in a sense; it just makes you hungrier. I think, putting myself aside, I think this is great for the group. This is why we work so hard, why we made the trade for James and Dennis and Keon. So yeah, it’s exciting to get that momentum and get one step closer. But we haven’t done anything yet, so I can’t go there," Mitchell said.

These three players that Mitchell named off the Cavaliers system have been very valuable throughout this NBA Playoffs run. Harden is a veteran under the limelight and it showed. He played 43 minutes and scored 30 points against a rough Pistons defense to win Game 5. Ellis, on the other hand, may not be delivering big numbers but his defensive prowess has been insane for the Cavaliers. To top it all off, Schroder acts as a secondary ballhandler for when Coach Atkinson is resting both Harden and Mitchell.

Huge numbers are not solely what make up a great team in the NBA Playoffs. Mitchell values these key players in Coach Atkinson's system because they do all of the hidden work. Now, the Cavaliers are on the edge of making an Eastern Conference Finals appearance without  having to need LeBron James after a long time.

More Cavaliers News:

1. Why Cavaliers 'stomach bugs' made a difference in NBA Playoffs series against Pistons

2. Donovan Mitchell speaks on the Cavs' turnover problem between him and James Harden

3. J.B. Bickerstaff believes the Cavaliers got away with a late Jarrett Allen foul in Game 5