Donovan Mitchell is dealing with an ankle injury, which he re-aggravated during Game 4.
Cleveland Cavaliers superstar guard Donovan Mitchell is officially listed as questionable for Tuesday’s do-or-die Game 5 at Rocket Arena according to an official NBA injury report. Mitchell reaggravated the injury during the humiliating blowout to the Indiana Pacers in Game 4.
Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and De’Andre Hunter are not listed on the injury report, indicating that they are good to go. The Pacers have no injuries to report other than Isaiah Jackson, who is rehabbing a torn achilles.
Mitchell began warming up toward the end of halftime, but appeared to be in some pain while doing so before leaving to go back to the locker room. He did not re-emerge on the Cavs bench and was listed as “doubtful” to return.
Prior to exiting, Mitchell scored 12 points on 3-of-11 shooting (1-of-5 from 3) in 20 minutes in the first half of Game 4.
When asked postgame about Mitchell’s availability for Game 5, Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said he had “no idea”.
After the game, Mitchell was spotted without a walking boot on his foot — a good sign — but ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that he is a true game-time decision for Game 5. The Cavs have exhibited caution with their players this series, and have a league-wide reputation of being extra careful of player health, but the margin of error is narrow. If the Cavs want any hope of sending this series back to Indiana, they will almost certainly need Mitchell.
The Cavs have dealt with several key injuries in this series, but the play has been uneven no matter who takes the court. Cleveland’s gut-wrenching, but extremely winnable, one-point loss in Game 2 showed how tough they are even without three rotation players. But Mitchell powered that engine to the tune of 48 points. Without him, the Cavs appear dead in the water.