NFL
By: Kevin Lucas
Since being traded from Utah to Cleveland in September of 2022, Donovan Mitchell has been a man on a mission and is garnering all of his respect, even from the doubters. Going into this season most NBA fans viewed Spida as an undersized, shot-chucking guard who couldn’t impact the game whatsoever outside of his scoring and highlight reel plays. Now he seems to be having the most fun of his brief yet rowdy NBA career while leading a young Cleveland Cavaliers team that is set to be a real force in the Association for years to come.
Even though he’s averaging nearly 30 points per game, the best part about watching D Mitch hoop this season is his willingness to get lost in the team and set the tone by sliding his feet on the other end of the court. He has taken on a leadership role for this Cavalier team and is making it a point to do all of the little things like communicating, hustling, and simply making the right play when the ball is in his hands.
The game of basketball is indeed about a bucket so we can’t forget about the main attribute that has brought Donovan Mitchell this far. On the 2nd night of 2023, Mitchell made NBA history by scoring 71 points on 22 of 34 shooting, while also adding in 11 assists and 8 rebounds in a 145-134 overtime win against the Chicago Bulls. He played 50 minutes and scored or assisted on 99 of the 145 points totaled for Cleveland.
Donovan Mitchell Is Playing His Best Ball
He is also the 3rd player this century to record 70 points or more joining the late great Kobe “Bean” Bryant, who had 81 on January 22nd of 2006 in a win over Toronto, and Devin Booker, who dropped 70 points in March of 2017 against the Celtics at just 22 years young. In this game, Donovan displayed the full arsenal as he had to carry the load with the Cavs starting off slow and his running mate Darius Garland sidelined with a sprained right thumb. From the pull-up 3s to the catch-and-shoot 3s, once Spida saw a few shots go in towards the end of the 2nd quarter you could tell that he was just getting started. Even with the Bulls constantly throwing 3 bodies his way, when you have the midrange jumper down pat on top of his explosiveness? You become virtually unstoppable.
His ability to get up and finish at the rim or get to the foul line has never been an issue either as he made 20 out of 25 free throw attempts. As a defense, you must make a wise decision when Donovan Mitchell is coming towards you with a full head of steam because his snatchback move is elite and can happen at any given moment with his stop/start speed.
Ever since Donovan came into the league back in 2017 he has shown that he is capable of scoring with the best of the best scorers in this league. Donovan Mitchell is simply playing as the premier version of himself. His name wasn’t all that mentioned before in MVP talks but after last night? Mitchell should be well immersed in those conversations. #Spida4MVP
