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Tim BontempsESPN
TORONTO Donovan Mitchell All was well Cleveland Cavaliers Could have hoped that he would be here Wednesday night against the Raptors.
The Cavaliers didn’t have much luck with other things.
Mitchell’s excellent regular-season debut was a triumphant one, with 31 points and nine assists. Cleveland, however, lost the game. 108-105To the Toronto Raptors Scotiabank Arena was packed to the rafters. lost Mitchell’s fellow All-Star guard, Darius GarlandTo correct a left eye laceration
J.B. Bickerstaff, Cavaliers coach, said that Mitchell was comfortable during Wednesday’s game. “It’s easy. This is something he’s done many times before. He’s experienced with carrying teams on his back and understands what it takes to do this. This is not a new thing, and it’s exactly what we expected of him.”
Mitchell took to the game with ease, scoring his first basket on a transition play in the first quarter. He made his second basket just a few seconds later, and then he scored a runner. Mitchell allowed his teammates to take some shots and get going. He then asserted himself more as the game progressed.
This escalated quickly when Garland was accidentally hit in his face by Raptors guards. Gary Trent Jr. Mitchell was forced to take over the running of Cleveland’s offense late in the second half.
Mitchell said, “That’s the biggest thing about playing with a group of good guys trying to find your spot, especially against a team such as Toronto.” Mitchell said, “You don’t want to be full bore. That’s how they want you to lose your mind.” Then [Garland] “It goes down so I can be more on the ball, directing traffic.”
He was able to easily transition into the role that he has filled so many times in the first five years his career with the company. Utah JazzMitchell was able to produce 18 of his points, and five assists, after the halftime break.
“He is an elite basketball player. Donovan is one of the best players in the league and he can do everything he can. He is so demanding on the defense that he can make all the passes. So again, it’s difficult to deal with him but he forces defenses to make tough decisions over the course of the season.
Mitchell was still able to put the Raptors on a 13-2 run late into the fourth quarter to erase a Cleveland lead of five points and pull ahead. However, Mitchell displayed signs of inexperience with his team, including miscommunications with All Star center. Jarrett Allen.
They were discussing what had happened when they made one of the mistakes as they walked to the podium. Allen explained that this was part of a natural growth process where new teammates learn to play off each other.
It’s part and parcel of growing together as teammates. It’s our first ever game together, our first official match together. It’s still a long process, and we have many issues to resolve.
Despite losing, the Cavaliers were positive. They spent more than half of the game without Garland, and Mitchell was on the court for the first time with the rising star big man. Evan Mobley.
Mitchell stated that it was a solid building block for Cleveland’s future.
Mitchell stated, “I think that we did a great job, but we can do a better job as a team.”