Getty Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cleveland Cavaliers entered Tuesday night’s contest against the Atlanta Hawks soaring, no pun intended. The Cavs clinched the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2018 by defeating the Rockets days earlier, with eyes on catching the Philadelphia 76ers for the No. 3 seed in the East.
The latter, of which, though, was put on hold after the Hawks squeaked out a win over the Cavs 120-118.
Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland put on a clinic for Cleveland, scoring 44 and 27 points, respectively. After the game, Hawks big man Onyeka Okongwu called out Mitchell’s performance, including a few strong shots down the stretch.
“We worked together,” Okongwu said, per the Wepa.FM YouTube channel. “Lockdown defense. You know, Mitchell’s making some tough shots , but overall I thought we did a good job on the defensive end of the floor.”
It’s not the first time recently that Okongwu praised a member of the Cavaliers organization.
Onyeka Okongwu Praises Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley
Okongwu featured prominently in a recent deep dive on Evan Mobley by Michael Pina of The Ringer.
“He’s a unicorn,” Okongwu said in Pina’s story. “That’s the term they use for people like him and [Victor] Wembanyama.” Okongwu and Mobley go back, having competed together during one another’s high school days, another factor Pina noted.
But Mobley’s case as a unicorn is one also echoed by his current teammate Ricky Rubio, who told Pina that he sees shades of Kevin Garnett and Chris Bosh in Mobley’s game.
While many have raised an eyebrow over Mobley’s sophomore slump, Pina sought to contextualize the former USC Trojan’s second year in the NBA. For starters, Mobley is as much a defensive menace as they come; he currently owns the league’s fifth-best odds for defensive player of the year, trailing Bam Adebayo of the Heat, Giannis Antetokoumpo and Brook Lopez of the Bucks, and Jaren Jackson, Jr of the Grizzlies.
And it’s not hard to see why.
Two years ago, the Cavaliers had the league’s fifth-worst defense. In Mobley’s first season, the team’s defensive rating spiked to the NBA‘s fifth-best. This year, the Cavs’ defense is second to none, with Mobley leading the league in defensive win shares and sitting fourth in defensive rating.
His offense might not have hit another gear (his three-point shooting is particularly atrocious), but his vision and productivity around the cup (81.9% three feet or less from the rim) is more than enough for now.
Donovan Mitchell Praises Hawks Coach
On the other end, Mitchell was highly complimentary of new Hawks coach Quin Snyder, who coached Mitchell for the player’s five seasons with the Jazz.
“I owe him a lot,” Mitchell said of Snyder, per Kelsey Russo of The Athletic. “I’m forever grateful of Quin Snyder. He’s a hell of a coach and is going to have a lot of success here in Atlanta. […] He’s a guy that literally gave me the ball and trusted in me, in a 20-year-old, 21-year-old who didn’t prove anything yet, just went out there and tried to continue to climb. When you have someone like that who trusts you, I’m forever grateful. And he really helped me get to be the player that I am today.”
The Cavaliers will be back in action Friday against the New York Knicks.
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Onyeka Okongwu Sounds Off on Donovan Mitchell After Cavaliers Fall to Hawks