Donovan Mitchell is off to best scoring start in Cleveland Cavaliers history

Donovan Mitchell has come out of the offseason on a hot streak, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 2-1 start despite the injury to Darius Garland in the first game of the season against the Toronto Raptors. The Cavs have never seen a scoring burst like this.

So far Mitchell is averaging 33.3 points, 7 assists, 5.3 rebounds, and 2 steals per game on incredible efficiency with splits of 49.2% from the field, 42.3% from three, and 87.5 from the free throw line.

On top of his incredible scoring, he has played the best defense of his young career, leading to plenty of points on the break and making him look like a true superstar for this young Cavaliers team.

This increase in fastbreak opportunities combined with elite efficiency has helped Mitchell open up the Cavaliers’ record books.

No Cavalier other than Donovan Mitchell has scored 30+ points in their first three games of the season.

That’s right, Donovan Mitchell is scoring at a clip better than LeBron James and Mark Price ever started off with during their time with the Cavaliers. In fact, Mitchell is just the third player in the history of the NBA to have 30-plus points in each of his first three games with a new team, per Elias Sports Bureau and as h/t Cavs Notes.

This scoring feat is impressive for any player with this franchise to achieve as there has been no shortage of elite scoring players to come through Cleveland at some point in their careers. Austin Carr, as noted above, was another Cavs player of that ilk.

Other notable Cavaliers that Mitchell has outscored through their first three games of their seasons include LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal, Mark Price, Kyrie Irving, and Darius Garland. There is no need to elaborate on how elite this company is for the three-time All-Star as most of those names are either already in the Hall of Fame or are on their way there eventually.

His 100 points scored to begin the season puts him just behind Stephen Curry, Ja Morant, and Damian Lillard this year while having the same record as the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies.

Donovan Mitchell has put the Cleveland Cavaliers on his back to carry them while Darius Garland recovers.

During this hot start, Donovan Mitchell has led the Cavaliers in both points and assists in all three games of the season, carrying nearly the entire load on offense. Mitchell’s improved defense has also helped the Cavs win two games and stay close against the Raptors in their only loss so far.

This is precisely why the Cavaliers decided to trade for the star shooting guard in the offseason as last year when Darius Garland missed time, they had limited ability to score the ball. Three games in and this trade has already proven to be 100 percent worth it.

Mitchell has kept the ball bouncing around the court and going through the hoop in the All-Star’s absence, allowing the Cavaliers to stay among the top teams in the Eastern Conference.

As long as Donovan Mitchell can play at a level similar to this for a few more games as Garland recovers from his eye injury, the Cleveland Cavaliers will be able to remain competitive as he looks to continue to rewrite the history books for his new team.