Donovan Mitchell, the guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers, will not be available when the Cavs take on the Chicago Bulls Wednesday night. Otherwise, he is sidelined due to a sprained left ankle. The injury occurred during the second half of Sunday’s game against the Sacramento Kings. Keon Ellis for the midcourt bump. The injury happened when Mitchell inadvertently stepped on Ellis’ foot near the center line, causing Ellis to lose his balance and roll his ankle.
Mitchell played through the discomfort for the final 15:02 of the Cavaliers’ 120-113 loss to the Kings, contributing 19 points to the team’s effort. He sits on the ground, writhing in pain while trainers and teammates rush to his side, hovering over him, providing clarity that this is a severe injury. Post treatment, he awkwardly limps off toward the locker room. His long-term on-field prospects took a hit with the injury. He conceded that when the initial blast of adrenaline wore off after five to 10 minutes, he was somewhat hobbled.
This season, Mitchell has only missed four games due to injury, including three games last month because of left groin soreness. He has established himself as the Cavaliers’ scorer, topping the team with 24 points per game. It’s truly remarkable, he’s the only guy in the league scoring at least 24 points and doing so while averaging less than 32 minutes of playing time.
In a press conference after the incident, Mitchell laid out his plan to be as safe as possible when returning to play.
“I’m not going to assess the future until we figure out what’s ahead. I’m going to be smart and figure it out when it gets to it.” – Donovan Mitchell
Though he does indeed want to get back on his feet, getting around isn’t what he’s most concerned with right now.
“I want to get the 1 seed and go from there. If I’m able to go, I’m able to go,” – Donovan Mitchell
Mitchell’s absence will be significant, and will be tested immediately as the Cavaliers face their Central Division rivals, the Chicago Bulls. The team will undoubtedly have to play a different style moving forward though, tasked with trying to replace the production of their top scorer. With Mitchell out of commission, several players will need to contribute in order to make up for the loss and the resulting scoring deficit.
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