Jalen Suggs vs. Donovan Mitchell highlights first-round matchup between Magic, Cavs

ORLANDO, Fla. — If there’s anyone on the Magic who understands the lethality of Cleveland‘s Donovan Mitchell, it’s veteran forward Joe Ingles.

The 36-year-old Australian, who’s become a crucial piece to Orlando‘s young roster, played with Mitchell in Utah from 2017-22 before the duo departed the Jazz.

Now they’ll face each other for the first time in the NBA playoffs, when the Magic and Cavaliers open their first-round series Saturday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

“I hate him,” Ingles quipped following Orlando’s second playoff practice at AdventHealth Center on Thursday.

The Jazz traded up and acquired Mitchell on draft night in 2017, but it wasn’t entirely clear what the organization was getting in the 6-3 guard who averaged 15.6 points as a sophomore at Louisville.

He offered quality shooting (36.1% from 3) and projected as an elite defender (2.1 steals) but lacked size as a tweener between the point and shooting guard positions.

Soon enough, however, it became crystal clear.

“We lost Gordon [Hayward] that year and it was kind of figuring out what we were doing,” Ingles recalled. “What he brought and how quickly he continues to get better was the reason we were the team we were.”

Mitchell, who was sent to Cleveland in a blockbuster trade ahead of the ’22 season, blossomed into one of the league’s top guards, earning second-team All-NBA last year and All-Star recognition five straight seasons.

This year, he’s one of just three players in the league who averaged at least 25 points, 5 rebounds and 1.5 steals, joining NBA MVP candidates Luka Doncic (Mavs) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder).

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