The and-1 to fall goes to the man.
Less than five weeks after being acquired by the Cleveland Cavaliers in a stunning blockbuster of a trade to cap a frenetic offseason in the NBA, Donovan Mitchell made his debut for the team.
After finishing with 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range, to go with five assists in 19 minutes in a 113- 112 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center, Mitchell admitted the idea of putting on a different jersey than the Utah Jazz
Mitchell said it felt good to wear a different jersey for the first time. It did not feel real yet.
Mitchell was about to be playing for the first time when he looked out the window of the Four Seasons in Philadelphia.
I sat there today and had a moment where I looked out and saw everything. He said it was really here.
Basketball is basketball once you are on the court. It's definitely not normal. It's a bit different. I'm looking forward to it. I thought it would go the way I thought it would.
Mitchell's arrival in Cleveland to complement a burgeoning young core featuring All-Stars Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen and runner up for last season's Freshman of the Year in Evan Mobley has the Cavaliers hoping this season will mark an upturn in fortunes to places the franchise hasn't seen in
Cleveland made the playoffs without James. The year 1997. The last time the team won a series without him was in the playoffs. Cleveland was swept by Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the 1992-93 playoffs.
To do those things, Cleveland will need to get its two ball-dominant guards, Mitchell and Garland, on the same page.
The focus was on avoiding playing "your turn, my turn" basketball according to J.B. Bickerstaff before the game.
Afterwards, he, Garland and Mitchell were all happy with how things came together.
Bickerstaff thought it was smooth. The way they played, the way the ball moved, everyone got involved, I think it's going to work out well.
It did most of the time Wednesday. Mitchell's first 3-pointer came off an assist from Garland, who finished with 12 points and four assists on 4-for-7 shooting, and was sandwiched between Mitchell setting up Kevin Love for a pair of triples himself.
Mitchell thinks they did a lot of things well. It's like you walk up the floor and he's got it. It's not like he's isolated. He's got it and he's going to make a play. We did not call a lot of plays in the first half. That tells us about our ball movement.
After Cleveland was almost solely reliant on Garland to create offense for himself and his teammates, he was thrilled at his opening look at life playing alongside Mitchell -- even within the meaningless confines of the first half of Cleveland's first preseason game.
Garland thought it was the spacing that made him notice most about playing next to Mitchell. You can pick your poison when you come off pick and rolls. You have to deal with it.
To be honest with you, it was just fun.
There is a decision to be made between now and opening night about who will start at small forward with Garland, Mitchell, Mobley and Allen.
Caris LeVert, who started Wednesday's game, and Dean Wade, who hit 3 triples off the bench, are possibilities. The decision on who to plug in will be based on how they can help the four stars around them.
He said that it would be who made those four guys better. On the offensive end of the floor, who helps them? They are on the defensive end of the floor. Which guys can be protected defensively? How does it affect our match ups? It helps us space the floor. We're taking all of those into account.
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