Cavaliers Guard Has Career Night In Win Over Hawks

Donovan Mitchell sets a new career high in assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers defeat the Atlanta Hawks.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are going to need players to step up with Darius Garland sidelined with a jaw fracture for the foreseeable future. Cleveland's offense runs through DG as he's the primary ball handler and averaging 5.9 assists on the season.

Saturday was the Cavaliers' first game without their franchise point guard as they took on the Atlanta Hawks. Donovan Mitchell started as the point guard in place of the injured Garland and filled that void perfectly.

Mitchell finished with 13 assists which set a new career-high for the Cavalier guard. His previous high was on October 30, 2022, against the New York Knicks where he dished out 12 assists.

Dec 16, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) celebrates after forward Dean Wade (32) hit a three-point basket during the first half against the Atlanta Hawks at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / © Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The play in which Mitchell recorded his 13th assist and set the new high was a beautiful one. Cleveland's offense was stringing together some incredible ball movement which ended with a bullet of a pass to Jarrett Allen from Mitchell.

Mitchell has always been known as a tremendous scorer and an offensive threat when he has the ball in his hand. It's about time we start respecting Spida for his ability to distribute the ball too. He's now averaging 5.1 assists this season which is nearly a career-high. (He averaged 5.3 assists a game during the 2021-22 season.)

It seems likely that we'll continue to see stints where Mitchell runs the point guard position over these next four weeks as Garland works to recover from his jaw injury. 

This may not be the ideal lineup that J.B. Bickerstaff wants to have on the floor, but Mitchell has now proven that it's a void he's able to fill for the time being.