Patryk Stachowiak
Donovan Mitchell grew up in the New York City suburbs, made the trip to Harlem on weekends to chase top-level AAU competition, and spent his formative years dreaming about playing in Madison Square Garden. That dream is now a reality, except the script reads nothing like he imagined as a kid. To reach the NBA Finals for the first time, he must eliminate the New York Knicks, the franchise he once worshiped, and he must do it from two games down after a 109-93 Game 2 defeat Thursday.
The Cleveland Cavaliers traveled to New York to open this Eastern Conference Finals and have been undone by two separate problems across two games: composure in Game 1, shooting in Game 2. Layered on top of both is a genuine concern about Mitchell’s ankle. He twisted it during the previous series against the Detroit Pistons, suffered a relapse in the fourth quarter of Game 1 Tuesday, and appeared stiff throughout Game 2. His coach, Kenny Atkinson, acknowledged Mitchell was trying “to work through it.” Mitchell, with a smirk, offered only: “I’m great. I’m great. I’m great.”
Feeling great and looking great are often opposed. The Knicks went on an 18-0 third-quarter run to break open a tied game while Mitchell sat with three fouls and a throbbing ankle. Atkinson was forced to rush him back earlier than planned. Mitchell labored through 39 minutes, finished with 26 points, was the best player on his team, and it meant nothing.
“We had great looks, just couldn’t make shots. We did a lot of positive things. Our process is right; sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way and you don’t make shots.” — Donovan Mitchell
The supporting cast was the sharper problem. Jalen Brunson had five Knicks teammates in double figures and contributed 14 assists himself. The Knicks have now won nine straight playoff games. Mitchell had no such reinforcements.
The Deal That Never Happened
The alternate history here is genuinely strange to consider. There was a window, years ago, where Mitchell and Brunson could have been paired together in New York, a combination that would have drawn comparisons to Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in Boston. The talk was never idle; both sides engaged. Neither side wanted the other badly enough to close it.
The summer of 2022 was a crossroads for the Knicks. They had missed the playoffs eight times in nine years, cycled through eight head coaches in eight years, and were searching for a centerpiece. Brunson left the Dallas Mavericks to join his father, Rick, a Knicks assistant, in perhaps the least-surprising free-agent move in recent memory. Then the Knicks turned their attention to Mitchell.
The Utah Jazz wanted two young starters, with RJ Barrett and Quentin Grimes the names in circulation, plus three first-round picks from New York. The Knicks stalled. Utah then asked Cleveland for Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, three first-round picks, and two swaps. The Cavs, adrift since LeBron James departed in 2018 and playoff-absent for four straight years, swallowed hard and delivered. Strangely, the Knicks later sent five first-round picks and a swap to the Brooklyn Nets for Mikal Bridges, a player widely considered less accomplished than Mitchell.
One final chance at a New York homecoming existed. Mitchell could have let his contract expire in the summer of 2025 and entered free agency. Instead, in 2024 he signed a three-year, $150 million extension with Cleveland, and that closed the conversation permanently.
Two Roads, One Garden
There was a telling moment between the two almost-teammates with four minutes remaining in Game 2, the Knicks up 13 points. Mitchell pressed Brunson closely, looking aggressive, perhaps hoping to spark the kind of improbable rally the Knicks themselves executed in Game 1 when they erased a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit. The sequence produced Mitchell’s fifth foul instead, and shortly after, his second loss of the series.
The Cavs have navigated adversity before in this postseason. They were pushed to a Game 7 against the Toronto Raptors in the first round, then fell 2-0 to the top-seeded Pistons in the second round before winning that series in seven games as well. The precedent exists.
“Through these moments you keep trusting what you’ve been doing. I like everything we’re doing. I’m not sitting here scrambling and trying to figure things out. It’s 2-0. They did their job. They protected home court. That simple. This isn’t our first time facing adversity … we’re ready to go for Game 3.” — Donovan Mitchell
Now Mitchell is trying to reach the Finals with 36-year-old James Harden as his primary wingman, while Brunson operates alongside Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, and a rotation built around his strengths. The gap in supporting casts is visible.
That teenage kid from the suburbs wanted to play in Madison Square Garden wearing Knicks colors. The adult version wants the Garden back for a Game 5, on his terms.
“It’s really as simple as this. We have to protect home court.” — Donovan Mitchell
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