{"id":131984,"date":"2025-03-31T15:59:49","date_gmt":"2025-03-31T19:59:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=131984"},"modified":"2025-03-31T15:59:49","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T19:59:49","slug":"donovan-mitchell-wants-to-face-and-conquer-the-celtics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/03\/31\/donovan-mitchell-wants-to-face-and-conquer-the-celtics\/","title":{"rendered":"Donovan Mitchell ‘Wants’ To Face And Conquer The Celtics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Donovan Mitchell<\/a> is a strong contender for the All-NBA First Team. He has sacrificed personal statistics to help the Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> win more games. This unselfish approach has propelled the Cavaliers to their 60th win of the season with seven games remaining. Mitchell is averaging 24.0 points per game, tying his lowest mark in six years. However, this dip in scoring is intentional. The Cavaliers have legitimate championship aspirations and aim to secure the top seed in the league. Kenny Atkinson hopes to do this by employing an egalitarian approach. The biggest beneficiary of this approach is Evan Mobley,<\/a> who has been encouraged to be more aggressive on offense. Their biggest obstacle is the defending champions, the Boston Celtics<\/a>. And Donovan Mitchell isn’t afraid of the Celtics one bit.<\/p>\n

Donovan Mitchell ‘Wants’ To Face And Conquer The Celtics<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Cavaliers\u2019 Preparation for Boston<\/h3>\n

The Cavaliers<\/a> understand the challenge ahead. Their only midseason trade was acquiring De\u2019Andre Hunter,<\/a> a 6’8″ two-way wing. His primary role will be to guard the elite Celtic wings Jaylen Brown<\/a> and Jayson Tatum<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mitchell knows that winning his first NBA championship likely requires overcoming Boston. Analysts predict a postseason clash between the two teams. However, Mitchell is not shying away from the challenge\u2014he is embracing it.<\/p>\n

Mitchell\u2019s Dominance Against the Celtics<\/h3>\n

Mitchell has thrived against Boston throughout his career. This season, he is averaging<\/a> an incredible 35.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game against them. His efficiency is staggering, boasting a 62.2% true shooting percentage.<\/p>\n

Over 20 career games versus the Celtics, Mitchell has averaged<\/a> 30.8 points, 4.9 assists, and 4.9 rebounds. His ability to elevate his game against elite opponents is undeniable.<\/p>\n

Playoff Performer<\/h3>\n

Mitchell\u2019s playoff performances further solidify his reputation. He is\u00a0averaging<\/a> 28.1 points, 5.0 assists, and 5.0 rebounds in 54 postseason games. Last season, he nearly hit the 30-point mark per game through two playoff series. Twice in his career, he has averaged over 30 points for an entire playoff run.<\/p>\n

He thrives when the pressure mounts. He consistently steps up in the biggest moments, making him a serious threat to any opponent.<\/p>\n

A Unique Blend of Skills<\/h3>\n

Mitchell\u2019s game is built on a rare combination of physicality, high basketball IQ, and shiftiness. He expertly blends hop steps, jump shots, floaters, and runners to keep defenders guessing. This skill set has allowed him to shoot an efficient 56.5<\/a>% on shots less than 10 feet from the rim. His ability to navigate through defenses and finish efficiently makes him one of the toughest guards to stop in the league.<\/p>\n

Rested and Ready for Battle<\/h3>\n

This season, the Cavaliers have ensured Mitchell is in peak condition for the playoffs. Head coach Atkinson has limited his minutes through an egalitarian approach. The strategy allows Mitchell to stay fresh for a deep postseason run.<\/p>\n

With his well-documented ability to rise to the occasion, a rested Mitchell could be the Celtics\u2019 biggest problem. If the Cavaliers and Celtics meet in the playoffs, Mitchell will be eager to prove he belongs among the NBA\u2019s elite and lead Cleveland to a championship.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Donovan Mitchell is a strong contender for the All-NBA First Team. He has sacrificed personal statistics to help the Cleveland Cavaliers win more games. This unselfish approach has propelled the Cavaliers to their 60th win of the season with seven games remaining. Mitchell is averaging 24.0 points per game, tying his lowest mark in six […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":131991,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,9],"tags":[49979,900,3966,236,408,596],"class_list":["post-131984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-cavaliers","tag-2024-25-nba-season","tag-donovan-mitchell","tag-evan-mobley","tag-kenny-atkinson","tag-nba-championship","tag-nba-playoffs"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131984"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131984\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":131992,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131984\/revisions\/131992"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}