It would have taken a miracle to Donovan Mitchell equalizes. His team led by three points on the floor of the Raptors with … 0.7 seconds to play, the rear only had to send a desperate prayer from his own half of the field. Far too short.
If Cleveland lost this first meeting, the former Jazz player however showed himself ” comfortable », as described by JB Bickerstaff, with his new team. “ It’s that simple. It’s something he’s done before. He’s carried teams on his back, so he’s aware of the moment and he’s able to do it. It’s not new, and it’s what we expect of him », develop the coach.
Individually, “Spida” did not miss his match. With 31 points (12/21 on shots), 9 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals, he finished as the game’s top scorer and passer. Much more effective attacking the circle than from afar (2/8), he had to take the game on his own after Darius Garland’s injury exit. The latter was hit in the face on an attempted interception by Gary Trent Jr, late in the second quarter.
” When he got injured, I had the ball more to run the game “Remarks the rear who actually raised the leather a lot in the second half, while Raul Neto, the substitute leader, was only asked for six minutes.
He puts so much pressure on the defense
After the break, and the injury of the starting point guard therefore, he compiled 18 points and 5 assists by creating a lot of chaos in the opposing defense. Like an action where he almost attracted the five Raptors by penetrating, before bringing out a good ball towards Kevin Love open in the corner.
” He is a top player. There aren’t many guys better than Donovan in this league, or capable of doing what he can do. He puts so much pressure on the defense, he has the ability to make all the passes (imaginable), so he’s hard to deal with and he forces defenses to make tough decisions over and over again “enthuses his coach.
Not everything was rosy, however, with a communication error with pivot Jarrett Allen when Toronto made the difference in the fourth quarter. ” It’s part of the game, of developing as teammates. This is our first official game together. We still have a lot of things to settle, a lot of things to communicate about off the field “, relativizes the pivot.
” We have worked well but we can do even better collectively “, ends Donovan Mitchell.
