After a frustrating double-overtime loss to the Chicago Bulls, the Cleveland Cavaliers are on the road again Friday to face the Detroit Pistons. While the Cavs are 3-0 against the Pistons this year, Detroit has been playing better basketball as of late, with their latest win coming against the Bulls at home.
In this matchup, Cleveland will be without Emoni Bates (NBA G League assignment), Ty Jerome (ankle), Isaiah Mobley (NBA G League assignment), Pete Nance (NBA G League assignment) and Tristan Thompson (suspension), but that was to be expected.
Bates, Mobley and Nance being unavailable is no surprise since all three aren't normal members of Cleveland's rotation and need to take advantage of the on-court reps available to them with the Cleveland Charge, the NBA G League affiliate of the Cavs. Jerome, meanwhile, had surgery on a nagging ankle injury in late January, with no sign of return, while Thompson is currently serving game 18 of a 25-game suspension after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. So the end is in sight for Cleveland to get back their veteran big man.
Instead, the biggest question mark for the Cavs heading into a divisional matchup with Detroit is whether or not Donovan Mitchell (knee) will be available.
Cavs could be without Donovan Mitchell in Detroit
Mitchell is currently listed as questionable to play in the Motor City. Without him, Cleveland tends to struggle on the offensive side of the ball as their MVP-caliber guard is typically at the center of everything they do offensively. If Mitchell can play, the Cavs won't struggle on offense and will begin to execute what has become their new identity on that side of the ball—taking and making as many 3-pointers as possible.
Usually, Mitchell will tweet Cleveland's hashtag #LetEmKnow soon before tipoff. So, keep your eyes on social media to lock in whether or not Mitchell is playing. If he ends up missing the game, then Isaac Okoro will start in his place and Mitchell's minutes will be distributed between Okoro, Max Strus, Caris LeVert and even Sam Merrill, who has been phased out of head coach J.B. Bickerstaff's rotation.
Darius Garland, who has been trying to find his footing after returning from injury, would also be expected to step up to counterbalance the lack of Mitchell's scoring edge. Thankfully, Garland is starting to look like his old self out there. If Mitchell is unable to play, Garland playing at an All-Star level will soften the blow.
Although the Pistons are a far less daunting challenge compared to what the Cavs faced in Chicago, having no Mitchell could spell disaster for Cleveland considering the team is only 6-5 without the All-Star guard this season. Perhaps the Cavs turn to different guards on their depth chart and see if they can beat a Pistons team that's lacking Marcus Sasser (knee), Buddy Boeheim (G League assignment), Tosan Evbuomwan (G League assignment), Jared Rhoden (G League assignment) and Stanley Umude (G League assignment).
Cleveland must bounce back from a frustrating loss to Chicago and maintain their grip on second-place in the Eastern Conference in this matchup against Detroit. Sure, the Pistons are nearly 30 games back of the Cavs in the bowels of the Eastern Conference. But the Milwaukee Bucks are within spitting distance of Cleveland in the standings and a loss to Detroit would only make things tighter in a hyper-competitive Eastern Conference, not to mention serve as a massive morale blowfor a Cavs team that has struggled to find consistency coming out of the All-Star Break.
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