The Toronto Raptors may be just 15-18 on the season, but they were good enough to beat the 3rd-place Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.
Thanks to big performances from O.G. Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, and Scottie Barnes (who combined for 52 points), the Raptors were able to come out on top by holding the Cavs to just 107 points on the night.
But if you ask All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, they were actually just fouling him over and over again. As he explained to reporters after the game, the physical contact Toronto plays with is at another level.
Donovan Mitchell’s two worst games since joining the Cavaliers have come against Eastern Conference nemesis Toronto. Just a coincidence or something more to it?
“When you foul the whole game — and they’re really good at it — they can foul the whole game and the refs aren’t going to call it on each possession,” Mitchell said following Cleveland’s 118-107 loss to Toronto. “Gotta give them credit. But we knew what we were coming into, and we just didn’t answer the bell. They’re physical. They kicked our a–.”
The Raptors were called for 20 fouls while Cleveland was whistled for 17. In all, the Cavs attempted 12 more free throws (30-18).
Mitchell may be getting a fine depending on how the NBA receives his comments, but he’s got bigger things to worry about anyway.
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While the Cavs are doing pretty well at 22-12 overall, they’ve lost some big games this year and seem to be at least a tier behind the Bucks and Celtics right now.
Nonetheless, Mitch still firmly believes his squad can go all the way.
“Being to the Finals four times in a row is greatness. Kevin’s been a part of that and he’s the last one left of that group. For us, we’re not LeBron James. But as a collective we can ultimately get there if we do it as a group. And we want to bring back another championship for this city,” said Mitchell.
Instead of complaining about fouls, Mitchell needs to learn how to fight through the contact so he can avoid shooting 25% from the field next time he faces the Raptors.
On Monday, Mitchell and his team will have their biggest test of all when the red-hot Nets come to town. We’ll see how they fare in that one, which should tell us a lot about how this team stacks up against the rest of the East.
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