BOSTON — Whenever Donovan Mitchell squares up with the guys in green, he enters a new realm. No player in NBA history has averaged more points per game against the Boston Celtics in the regular season. Mitchell has put up 30.8 on average against Boston, just 0.1 ahead of Michael Jordan. (Rookie VJ Edgecombe technically ranks atop the list after his 34-point showing on Opening Night, but the one-game sample size isn’t as noteworthy.)
Including playoff matchups, Jordan’s average jumps to 31.6, leapfrogging Mitchell, though the Cleveland Cavaliers star still sits at 30.9 when factoring in the postseason.
Boston has a new lineup to throw at Mitchell this season. And though their talent level dropped (on paper), their defense could be more intriguing when it comes to stopping the superstar.
Donovan Mitchell is a certified Celtics killer
Rather than staying home and avoiding fouls, like the Celtics have for the past few seasons, they are taking more risks. They’re sending doubles, stunting in the lane, and living with more late-contested threes.
Whether the new style will help them in their quest to stop Mitchell is another question.
“Yeah, I don't know,” Joe Mazzulla said pre-game before the Celtics’ game against the Cavs on Wednesday. “We haven't seen it yet, but I know, like you said, it takes all five guys to be able to defend them.”
Maybe Derrick White will get the Mitchell matchup. Perhaps it will be Jaylen Brown. Even rookie Hugo Gonzalez or Josh Minott could be an option, as both have done a great job of pressuring the ball full-court this season.
And it hasn’t been a slow start for Mitchell this season, either.
“You take a look at the third quarter of the Knicks, he went on a run by himself, right?” Mazzulla said. Mitchell dropped 21 points in the Cavaliers’ Opening Night loss to the New York Knicks.
Stopping Mitchell might be impossible. But the Celtics want to contain him.
“I think when you're playing against a talent like that, it takes all five guys, but you got to try to manage his individual runs,” said Mazzulla. “That’s with great individual defense and team defense. You have to be able to do that.”
Boston’s 1-3 start to the season has come with plenty of road bumps. But their first-shot defense has still been some of the best in the league. That bodes well for their chances against Mitchell (but not so much for their chances on the boards against Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen).