NBA
Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell said ‘I don’t feel like I was the player I needed to be for this group’
Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.
All posts by Zach WolpinUpdated27 Apr 2023
The Cleveland Cavaliers season ended last night after a 106-95 loss at home to the New York Knicks. After splitting the first two games, the Knicks took the next three to beat the Cavs in five games. This was Clevelnad’s first playoff appearance since LeBron James was on the team and it did not end well. After the game, all-star SG Donovan Mitchell was clearly upset and said he did not play to his full potential in this series.
Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff spoke to the media after the game and said “Everybody’s hurting”. The Cavs knew they had a real chance in this series vs the Knicks, but they were outworked almost every game. New York beat Cleveland by double-digits in two of their five games in round 1.
Cleveland was no match for the Knicks in this series and New York will face the Heat in Round 2. The Cavs will have to watch the rest of the playoffs from home.
“They outplayed us. Gotta give credit where credit is due. Simple as that”
— Donovan Mitchell on the Knicks pic.twitter.com/vzR0OlQJKU
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) April 27, 2023
Donovan Mitchell struggles in Cleveands series vs the Knicks
In five separate playoff berths with the Utah Jazz, Donovan Mitchell played in 39 postseason games. He averaged (28.3) points in those games and shot (.369) percent from deep. Mitchell’s averages with the Cavs this season dropped compared to his past postseason performances.
The four-time all-star averaged (23.2) points in Cleveland’s five games vs the Knicks in the 2023 playoffs. His three-point percentage dropped drastically to (.289) this postseason. Over the last four games of the series, he averaged (19.5) points per game and went 31-74 from the field. Mitchell had this to say after their season ended last night.
“I don’t feel like I was the player I needed to be for this group”- Donovan Mitchell
Cleveland was bullied on the glass for most of this series and the Cavs’ frontcourt was no match for Mitchell Robinson. The Knicks imposed their will this series and that’s why they are moving on to the next round and the Cavs are starting their offseason plans.
