Donovan Mitchell on the edge of a cliff: “I don’t have time to keep my head down”
The Cleveland Cavaliers lost 93-102 in Game 4 against the New York Knicks in the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs held at Madison Square Garden in New York on the 24th (hereinafter Korean time).
Cleveland, which lost both games 3 and 4 in New York with this loss, is on the verge of being eliminated from the playoffs with a record of 1 win and 3 losses in the series.
Donovan Mitchell’s sluggish performance was disappointing. Mitchell, who has been strong in the playoffs since his time in Utah, scored more than 20 points in 22 of the 23 playoff games played over the past three years from 2020 to 2022, so Cleveland is a resource that demonstrates steady productivity even on the big stage. The expectations were high.
However, Mitchell was tied to the opponent’s defense that day and only scored 11 points. The field goal success rate was only 27.8% (5/18), all 4 3-point shots missed the rim, and even the game did not work out well as 6 turnovers were committed.
Of course, Mitchell isn’t the only one having trouble developing his offense. Cleveland is suffering from a scoring drought that has not exceeded 100 points in all of the remaining three games, except for the 107 points scored in the second game in which they won this series. 메이저놀이터
In particular, the 79 points from Game 3 is the lowest score ever scored by a team this season.
“You can’t get eliminated like this,” Mitchell said in an interview after the game. “I don’t like the way we lost the game, but there’s no time to keep my head down. I will come well prepared,” he said, reaffirming his determination.
Cleveland, who acquired Mitchell through a trade ahead of the season opener, finished the season 51-31 and secured the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. However, he faced a formidable opponent, 5th seed New York, and was driven to the edge of a cliff.
Cleveland must win Game 5, which will be held at home on the 27th, to rekindle the spark of hope for advancing to the second round.