The COVID-19 era brought a pause in life then. A time when humans had to fight for their lives while suspending their activities. One NBA star that felt the effect of the pandemic era, was Cleveland Cavaliers’ shooting guard Donovan Mitchell.
The four-time NBA all-star, whose on-court outstanding performances have kept the Cleveland Cavaliers soaring this new season, has recalled the pandemic phase, which he had to endure an unpleasant experience for the time being.
Donovan Mitchell says COVID-19 kept him in mother’s basement
The post-LeBron James era at the Cavs has seen Donovan Mitchel carrying the Cavs on his shoulder. He seems to be the superstar that has been missing in their roster since LeBron’s departure.
During his appearance on the episode of “Run Your Race” podcast, Mitchell shared stories of his life, and basketball and even disclosed how he spent time in his mother’s basement during the pandemic era.
Mitchell said, “I couldn’t go anywhere and get food because people thought I really had Covid, and this was when, remember that high school kid that died? So people didn’t know if you were healthy, unhealthy, whatever the thing was. So, I was locked in my mom’s basement for about a month and a half.”
Mitchell disclosed the time he spent in his mother’s basement in Connecticut early on during the pandemic era, owing to people being afraid that he had got the deadly virus. Mitchell, then a Jazz player, also saw his teammate Rudy Gobert, become the first NBA player to test positive for the virus, which prompted the suspension of the 2019-2020 season on 11 March 2020 by the NBA.
After several months of no basketball action, the season restarted at Disney World in Orlando, in which 22 NBA teams contested for the regular season and playoffs. The Lakers were the eventual winners of the NBA title, which was tagged “The Bubble Year.”
Happily, things are back to normal in the World and the NBA, where Mitchell is impressively showcasing his potential on the court for the Cleveland Cavaliers, averaging 27 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game that has inspired the team’s 12-9 record.
Mitchell’s Cavs beat Magic
The Cleveland Cavaliers showed dominance over the Orlando Magic recently when they defeated the Magic 121-111 to extend their positive results in the season. The Cavs stars Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland combined to achieve a season-high 61 points.
Mitchell had a team-high 35 points with 6 assists, which tied with second most on the roster with Max Strus. Darius Garland had 26 points with a season-high 9 assists. Also, the duo shot a combined 22 for 42 (52.4%) from the field, and a combined 6 for 14 (42.9%) from the 3-pointer range.
Darius Garland as an individual player, had the most effective outing of the campaign so far, as he wasn’t guilty of turnovers for the first time this season. Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B Bickerstaff, in his post-game talk, praised the efficiency of Darius Garland and his positive impact on his teammates’ performances.
Bickerstaff said, “I give Darius a little bit of leeway because I know who he is. He’s an extremely efficient basketball player…His job is to not only take care of himself, but his job is to make this team go. And he did a great job of that tonight.”
The duo of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland signaled that the Cleveland Cavaliers currently boast one of the league’s top duos.
