The Cleveland Cavaliers may have lost their season series against the New York Knicks, 3-1, but it doesn’t bother Donovan Mitchell despite the possibility of facing his hometown team in the first round of the playoffs.
New York handed Cleveland its latest defeat on Friday, with Jalen Brunson exploding for 48 points to propel the Knicks to the 130-116 win. Considering that both teams are likely to finish as the fourth and fifth seeds, many Cavs fans couldn’t help but be concerned about the team’s chances. The Wine and Gold may have the better record overall, but their head-to-head results don’t really inspire confidence among the Cleveland faithful.
For Mitchell, however, he’s not concerned about the head-to-head tally. He emphasized that he “wouldn’t want it any other way” when it comes to facing the Knicks in the postseason since it would provide him an opportunity to play in front of his friends and family.
“It’s full circle. You wouldn’t want it any other way. What kid wouldn’t want to play against his hometown team in the playoffs? I think for me, I wouldn’t want it any other way. It’s a storybook ending — it’s not ending, but it’s a storyline. Something that’s really special and near and dear to me, being able to play in a playoff game in front of my friends and family, the team that I grew up watching,” Mitchell shared, per New York Daily News.
Donovan Mitchell certainly loves playing against the Knicks. In their Friday loss, he actually bagged 42 points and would have been the hero for the Cavs had it not for Jalen Brunson’s big game. Overall in their four games against New York, he averaged 31.8 points.
It remains to be seen how Mitchell and the Cavs plan to counter the Knicks’ offense should they really end up playing in the first round of postseason. But sure enough, fans will love the fact that their superstar guard is not running away from the competition.