“Come in and kick our a**” - Donovan Mitchell calls out media narrative ahead of Boston-Cavs Semifinals
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell minced no words when he called out the media narrative ahead of their Eastern Conference semifinals matchup against the Boston Celtics.
The Cavs beat the Orlando Magic 104-94 in Game 7 of the 2024 NBA Playoffs and advanced to the next round. The tussle between these two teams also became the first to stretch to a seven-game series. The Celtics beat the Miami Heat 4-1 and will host Cleveland at the TD Garden on Tuesday (May 7).
Speaking to the media in the aftermath of the win, Mitchell kept it blunt, saying the focus would be on winning, rather than on the storylines created ahead of the matchup.
“For us coming into Boston — I’m pretty sure everyone thinks they’re going to come in and kick our a**. So for us, to continue stay level-headed through it all, not listen to y’all, and be who we are — that’s the biggest thing.”
Donovan Mitchell led the Cavs with 39 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. He has been the driving force for the side, averaging 28.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in the first round of the playoffs.
Donovan Mitchell breaks a three-year streak of not making it past the first round of the NBA Playoffs
With the Game 7 win on Sunday, Donovan Mitchell finally broke the three-year streak of not making it past the first round of the postseason. Cleveland lost in the first round to the New York Knicks last year. Mitchell was part of the Utah Jazz before that, and they lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of 2022.
On his part, Mitchell was relieved that he was not going home for an early summer. Per ESPN's Kendra Andrews, he said:
"I'm tired of losing in the first round. You work too hard. We work too hard. That was my mindset ... for me, just be in attack mode. I'm battling through what I'm battling through, but I could battle through it and figure it out, or rehab it for the next three or four months. That's where I'm at mentally."
With the Magic forcing a Game 7 in the opening round, the Cavaliers will now gear up for the Celtics who are another beast and a clinical outfit to go up against. Both teams met thrice in the regular season with Boston taking the series 2-1. Now, it's another massive matchup between both teams in the second round — one that Donovan Mitchell hopes will see him go to the next level.