Donovan Mitchell was the lone bright spot for the Cleveland Cavaliers in their first three playoff games against the Indiana Pacers. Mitchell was averaging 41.3 points per game in the second round heading into Game 4. Entering Sunday, his dominance was their only consistent strength against an Indiana team that is peaking at the perfect time. And then, in Game 4, everything fell apart for the Cavs.
The Pacers shellacked the Cavaliers. They were up 80-39 at halftime (that 41-point gap is tied for the biggest halftime lead in playoff history), and went on to win by 20. To add injury to insult, Mitchell didn’t look right coming out of the locker room before the second half. He tried to get some shots up, but didn’t look comfortable. He ultimately was not on the court or even on the Cavs’ bench when the second half began.
He missed the second half with a left ankle injury, the team announced. Coach Kenny Atkinson said after the game that Mitchell will get an MRI on Monday and he has “no idea” on his status for Tuesday’s Game 5.
The Cavaliers did open as an eight-point favorite on FanDuel in Game 5 even with Mitchell’s status unclear.
While Mitchell’s availability is uncertain, we can say with that Cleveland is likely not winning this series if Mitchell has to miss games. Cleveland will need to win three consecutive games, including one in Indiana, to reach the Eastern Conference finals. Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter are all playing through injuries and missed Game 2. This team was already operating at considerably less than full strength, but Mitchell was so good he was keeping them in the mix.
Without him? This 64-win season could be coming to an end.
