"Not trying to put all of it on his shoulder": Cavaliers' Georges Niang on Donovan Mitchell’s Leadership, fiery 13-0 start, and more (Exclusive)
The Cleveland Cavaliers became the eighth team in NBA history to begin a season 13-0 after defeating the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday. For a franchise that previously was led by LeBron James, shattering a record for the best start in their history says a lot.
Among the rotation players filling an important role for the Cavaliers is Georges Niang, who is in the second season of his tenure with the organization. He's averaged 6.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 18.4 minutes per game, providing an impact that head coach Kenny Atkinson describes as a "connector."
"To quote Steve Kerr, he's a connector," Atkinson told Sportskeeda about Niang. "He connects things on both ends when he's on the floor. He has a very, very high basketball IQ."
Between being a threat as a catch-and-shoot sniper, an intelligent decision-maker on both ends, and embracing an unselfish approach, Atkinson believes Niang helps this Cavs team as a "monumental off-the-bench" player.
"He doesn't need to touch it. He can make the extra pass. Obviously, [he's a] 40 percent career, catch-and-shoot, which helps a lot," Atkinson explained to Sportskeeda about Niang's impact. "I thought he was huge in the Brooklyn game, he came in and kind of touched the game, so he's monumental off the bench. I think when you have a talented group like this, you need connectors. And he's part of that group we have."
Before joining the Cavaliers, Niang, who has a 65.7% career winning percentage, was a rotation player on various highly successful regular-season squads, including the Utah Jazz and Philadelphia 76ers. It starts with having the right talent. Niang believes that beyond top-level players like Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Darius Garland, and Jarrett Allen, this group has many impactful role players to help field successful lineups around them.
"I think it's multiple lineups to be very versatile with your attack and the way you defend other teams, whereas now you see a lot of teams that have a lot of high-level superstars but not a ton of role players," Niang detailed to Sportskeeda. "And I think we kind of have both, right? We have emerging young stars and a lot of quality role players."
Impressed by this Cavs squad's "results-based" approach, Niang praised the team's focus on winning instead of chasing personal stats. The early success the team is achieving has only made it easier for everyone to "double down on winning," as he put it.
"When you have that on a team, you see the results because I think sometimes basketball is media results-based, and you see those results with the wins," Niang told Sportskeeda. "You're like, okay, 'I can double down on sacrificing because it's leading to winning,' and you gotta fight complacency, I think, every single day."
The new coaching staff from inside the Cavaliers' locker room is very confident, and it has played a pivotal role in the team firing on all cylinders immediately despite learning Atkinson's style. Niang detailed how Atkinson gives Cleveland significant confidence while being willing to get creative with strategies.
"I just think it's the belief that they have in us to try different things, but also breathe confidence in the things that they know we're good at," Niang said to Sportskeeda about Atkinson. "When you have a leader who is as sound as Kenny, he continues to trust and build that confidence. I think the sky's the limit."
The Cavaliers have trust in throwing out creative lineups; whether it's starting their two primary bigs together, deploying Dean Wade at the five in an all-bench lineup, or staggering their bigs with a shooter at the four, they have many options. The buy-in of this group makes it possible to embrace creative combinations when Atkinson decides to push different buttons.
"I honestly think it's the versatility of the way we can play. We can play a big lineup. We can play a small lineup," Niang told Sportskeeda. "And we have a coach that's willing to, you know, experiment and trust us using those different types of lineups. And I think, you know, getting off to a good start is also a tribute to, you know, our team. He's on core four, but our supporting cast is also getting off."
How the Cleveland Cavaliers core has grown
Donovan Mitchell sets the tone in the backcourt, providing 23.7 points and 3.7 assists per game, and was recently named Eastern Conference Player of the Week. The Cavaliers continue to benefit from a superstar who is the foundation for attacking teams. Niang, who played with Mitchell during his time with the Jazz, sees him as a tone-setter for the team culture.
He's not trying to put all of it on his shoulders," Niang expressed about Mitchell to Sportskeeda. "I think that's huge growth, especially as a leader. As a star player and a leader."
Throughout his time as Mitchell's teammate, Niang has felt Mitchell consistently displays growth as a leader. Donovan is assertive as a leader by communicating and trusting his teammates to handle responsibilities throughout games.
"I think the biggest part of him is it's always, he's always shown growth in that leadership category," Niang told Sportskeeda about Mitchell. "Whether it's pulling guys aside and, 'Hey, I want you to do this, or I need you to do this.' Or, you know, breathing confidence in them with advancing the ball to them take a play up.
Darius Garland, the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week, has found a significant rhythm this season, following up with his backcourt partner, Mitchell. Last season, he had to get a wiring removed from a broken jaw, along with other injuries and personal matters, making it challenging to be at his best. Averaging 20.2 points and 6.5 assists, Niang believes Garland is showing his All-Star form while praising his presence in initiating the offense, scoring, and passing.
"Yeah, I know last year was tough for Darius considering that he had to miss a bunch of games because of his jaw and injuries," Niang said about Garland to Sportskeeda. "So I know he was eager to get back, and really, I don't want to say show people because we already know, but I think just to continue to show his growth and his ability to just be that All-Star level point guard that everyone knows he is. He's been phenomenal. He's done a great job of getting us into offense, scoring when we need him to distributing."
The Cavaliers have continued to play through Evan Mobley more as a playmaker within their offense, providing the backcourt with a necessary release valve. Between his improved shooting, paint touch, and all-around versatility, Niang sees the continued growth of an impressive talent on both ends, as Mobley's averaging 17.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while adding 1.5 blocks and 1.0 steals with his rare defensive versatility.
"Evan, I think we've done a really good job of putting the ball in his hands and letting him play make and kind of relieve some stress when other teams try and pressure with guards," Niang told Sportskeeda about Mobley. We've had him bring the ball up, and he's been able to get to his spots. He's really shown how versatile he is, especially with his ability to make threes and his touch and versatility around the rim."
Niang's Focus as a "Connector"
Niang, a career 39.5% three-point shooter, is confident he will find a rhythm on his shot soon. He detailed to Sportskeeda the intentional daily process of establishing consistency and getting out of shooting slumps when they do occur.
Niang's trainer, Joey Burton, plays an integral part in this process. Burton uses film study to diagnose miss patterns and help on-court reps maintain proper mechanics. Burton has worked with Niang since his rookie season in 2016-17, when he was a member of the Indiana Pacers.
"I think the biggest thing that's on me is, you know, watching film whether it's my follow-through, or where I'm guiding the ball, where my guide hand is, I work with a guy named Joey Burton, who I've worked with since I started in the NBA," Niang explained to Sportskeeda. "He's really helped me develop a routine and checkpoints that I have when I'm shooting. So when something is wrong, I know what's wrong, and I can fix it."
While Niang is finding his rhythm from the perimeter early this season, he scored 12 points against the Bulls on Monday by frequently making plays inside the line. As teams play him aggressively on the perimeter, he's emphasized getting into his floater or a hook after playing off two feet in the paint. His unselfish approach creates plenty of opportunities to spray the ball out to open teammates after drawing help or to make the dropoff pass in the paint to one of the Cavaliers' talented bigs.
"I think the biggest thing for me is just to find ways to continue to impact the game. I'm known as a shooter, so getting chased off the line is common to met," Niang explained to Sportskeeda. "It's about finding other ways to be effective, whether that's making floaters or creating for others, getting in the paint and kicking out, just taking what the defense has given me.
"I was able to do that lately off some closeouts and some drives, and I think just overall being effective when you have the ball, whether that's scoring, passing, or facilitating," Niang added. "Obviously, I know my shot's gonna fall, you know. It's something that you have to be able to do. What else can you do when the main thing that you do isn't working?"
Niang has also been intentional in his defensive impact to earn minutes on highly successful teams. In the 237 minutes he's played, he's contributed to the Cavaliers' 107.2 defensive rating. He credits his pride for getting stops despite needing to guard multiple positions to achieve this long-term progression.
"I think the biggest thing for me is taking pride on that end and wanting to be a guy that your team can rely on to switch, get stops, guard multiple positions because the more positions you can guard, the longer you can play," Niang told Sportskeeda. "I think it's something that I'm prideful about. I'm a competitor, I'm a winner, and those are the little things that I want to continue to grow and be better."
As the Cavaliers enter Friday's matchup against the Chicago Bulls in a rematch seeking to remain undefeated, the team has already laid an impressive foundation to build on. Based on Niang's insights, this might be a team with a young core that's grown together and appears to be taking the next step.