While the Cleveland Cavaliers initially said Donovan Mitchell would be out for at least the next three games, it could be longer than initially expected. Mitchell, who had been dealing with a nagging knee injury that was deemed a bone bruise by the Cavs, recently received a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection to help with the healing. But before Clevleand's home tilt against the Boston Celtics, head coach JB Bickerstaff gave more insight on Mitchell's injury and recovery.
“I expect him to be back before a month,” Bickerstaff said. “I don't like to overstep my bounds. But at the end of the three games, they'll reevaluate and then we'll make a decision from there.
“I'm hopeful and do not expect this to be a long break. But we will always do what’s best by our guys to make sure they’re healthy.”
Donovan Mitchell's injury status
The 27-year-old Mitchell leads the Cavs in scoring, contributing 28.0 points per game on 47.2% shooting and is putting up career-best marks in rebounds (5.4), assists (6.2) and steals (1.8) in his second season with the Wine and Gold.
Mitchell missed his third straight game Tuesday because of the injury and last played on Wednesday in Windy City against the Chicago Bulls. In the double-overtime loss to the Bulls, Mitchell only scored 19 points on 5-of-13 shooting in 44 minutes of action. Since then, Mitchell has not done any serious basketball-related activities, protecting Cleveland's MVP from doing any more damage to his bothersome knee.
“It's more of a wear and tear thing,” Bickerstaff explained. “I know you guys don't get an opportunity to speak to him before (the game), but from where we were, it was like a tendonitis-type thing that kind of just flared up. It’s not something that just happened, but something that just built over time.”
The Cavs and Mitchell both decided this PRP injection was the best form of treatment to alleviate the pain and get him back on the floor sooner rather than later. Cleveland is 7-6 without Mitchell this season, including being 1-3 since the All-Star break. The matchup against Boston at home was the beginning of a difficult stretch in the Cavs' schedule.
After hosting the Celtics, the Cavs will travel to Atlanta for the second of a back-to-back before returning home to face Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday. Mitchell will be re-evaluated this weekend, after the Minnesota game, and the team will figure out the next steps to help get Mitchell back on the floor.
“You’re always obviously concerned, but we're confident and these next steps would be the steps that are necessary,” Bickerstaff said. “It was one of those things where he was trying to play through it, but he just was hampered and you could see he couldn’t explode. He couldn’t move going certain directions because of the pain and how it was limited.
“I'm not a doctor, but from everything that I’m hearing, the time, the rest and the process should get him back to full strength.”
JB Bickerstaff did say that facing the harder portion of their schedule without Donovan Mitchell will be a test for him as a coach. It'll force him to dig deeper into his bench and shake up his lineups, which was evident when he chose to start Sam Merrill in Mitchell's place against the Celtics. This stretch without Mitchell will also be a test of Cleveland's fortitude but, if the Cavs survive and Mitchell is ready for the playoffs, then they should be alright.
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