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On top of his nagging knee issue, Donovan Mitchell is dealing with a facial fracture. The Cleveland Cavaliers, in an announcement, said that Mitchell suffered the injury on March 16 in the Cavs’ loss to the Houston Rockets. He, the team says, will be reevaluated in “approximately one week.”
Mitchell’s seemingly happened when he took an accidental elbow to the face from Cavs center Tristan Thompson. Mitchell continued playing until Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff pulled Mitchell and the rest of the Cavs’ main players off when the game moved into garbage time.
After that game, Mitchell told reporters in Houston that his knee still needed time to heal and that he was “probably” going to miss the Cavs’ next game. He did miss that game — Cleveland’s Monday road win against the Indiana Pacers.
“Just gotta take some time to rest and get it right,” Mitchell said, per cleveland.com. “I thought I was ready. I’m not. It sucks. I want to be out there. But it’s clear as day. Even to myself. I can’t fool myself. Just get it right and be ready when that time comes.”
A week from now would put the schedule near the end of March and about two weeks before the end of the NBA regular season. With Mitchell’s two injuries — plus injuries to Max Strus and Evan Mobley that have kept them on the sidelines for an extended period of time and Dean Wade’s recent absence — the biggest question for the Cavs the rest of the way may be how healthy they can get before the playoffs.
There are other questions to sort through — notably what seed the Cavs finish and what level Darius Garland is playing at when the playoff start — but none feel more important than health. And especially Mitchell’s.
This team goes as he goes. They need him.
