Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell Fires Massive Shot At Critics

Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell decided to fire a shot at critics following the team's win over the New York Knicks.

Nov 28, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) and guard Donovan Mitchell (45) celebrate in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Hawks at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images / David Richard-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the New York Knicks by a score of 110-104 on Monday night to run their record to a perfect 4-0 on the season.

Darius Garland led the Cavaliers with an explosive 34 points in the contest, and afterward, Donovan Mitchell saw an opportunity to fire a shot at Garland's critics.

“I just want everybody who was on that side to stay on that side when it comes to him. I don’t want there to be a switch-up. I know who a lot of y’all are,” Mitchell said, via Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “There are times throughout your career when you have years like that. Obviously, he was going through things personally. You have to grow. You have to figure it out. A lot of people said he couldn’t.”

Garland was the subject of rampant trade speculation over the summer after a rather disappointing 2023-24 campaign and a disastrous playoff showing.

Many were wondering if Garland was compatible with Mitchell in Cleveland's backcourt and whether or not it would be better for the Cavs to simply move on from Garland in order to further open up the offense for his fellow guard.

But the Cavaliers decided to hold on to Garland, who went 12-for-19 with five three-pointers during Cleveland's victory at Madison Square Garden.

Garland actually got off to a slow start this season, scoring a combined 20 points over his first two games. He then registered 23 points in a victory over the Washington Wizards before finally breaking out against the Knicks.

The 24-year-old is now in his sixth season with the Cavs and has averaged 18.4 points per game over the course of his NBA career.