CLEVELAND — When the Utah Jazz first started listening to trade offers for Donovan Mitchell last offseason, many assumed the All-Star guard would wind up with the New York Knicks.
As it turns out, Mitchell will be playing in Madison Square Garden during the Eastern Conference Playoffs -- only he'll be doing so on the opposing team.
Behind 43 points from Mitchell, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Orlando Magic 117-113 on Tuesday, improving their record on the season to 50-30. With the win, the Cavs clinched the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, which will give Cleveland a homecourt advantage in the first round.
Later on Tuesday night, the Knicks defeated the Washington Wizards 118-109, locking New York into the Eastern Conference's No. 5 seed. As a result, despite the regular season not being over until Sunday, the Cavs now know they'll be facing the Knicks in a best-of-seven series in the playoffs' opening round.
The matchup between Cleveland and New York is sure to be an intriguing one, thanks in large part to the presence of Mitchell. Not only were the Knicks the suitor most consistently linked to the four-time All-Star last summer, but even Mitchell -- a native of New York whose father works for the Mets -- thought he was going to wind up in the Big Apple.
"I thought for sure I was going back home, I'm not gonna lie about that," Mitchell said during his introductory press conference with the Cavs last September.
In coming to Cleveland, Mitchell has turned in a career year, averaging 28.3 points on .484 percent shooting, 4.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists. While the addition of Mitchell has bolstered a Cavs core that also includes point guard Darius Garland, forward Evan Mobley and center Jarrett Allen, the Knicks have benefitted from the arrival of point guard Jalen Brunson (24.0 points per game on .491 shooting, 6.2 assists and 3.5 rebounds) and the re-emergence of All-Star forward Julius Randle (25.1 points per game on .459 shooting, 10.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists).
All things considered, Cleveland and New York appear to be evenly matched -- although it's worth noting the Knicks won the season series 3-1. Nevertheless, when it comes to the first round of the playoffs, there will be no shortage of eyes on the Cavs and Knicks.