The Cavs Core Four: Evaluating their Game 2 performances vs Knicks

Donovan Mitchell’s Game 2

Mitchell finished with 38 points on 14-of-30 shooting and eight assists in the Game 1 loss. He took a whooping 16 threes. He acknowledged that he forced some things and who could blame him? The Cavs couldn’t shoot the ball into Lake Erie if they tried. In Game 2 though, Mitchell was masterful on offense and it was more than just scoring.

He only took 11 shots, but he made 6 of them, which gave him 17 points for the game. What was really impressive about his performance was his 13 assists and 2 turnovers. He was the primary ball handler, and he made great decisions out of double teams and traps, finding open teammates and getting them open shots. He was not trying to force his way to the basket and get his numbers up. He was deferring to his teammates, specifically Garland, who was hotter than fish grease. This is what superstars do: find multiple ways to impact the game in addition to scoring.

Now sitting at 21 total assists for the series, it will be interesting to see if this is a trend that will continue for Mitchell as the Cavaliers head on the road. Nonetheless, he had another great performance that translated to a win this time around.