The Cleveland Cavaliers released an update on injured star guard Donovan Mitchell after he received a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection to treat a left knee bone bruise.
Mitchell is expected to miss the team’s next three games against the Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks and Minnesota Timberwolves.
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) March 4, 2024
It isn’t great news for the Cavs, but the All-Star guard will hopefully respond well to the injection and be able to return to the floor at some point in the near future. Mitchell has missed the Cavs’ last two games against the Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks with the injury.
Cleveland has already played 13 games without Mitchell this season. While the team hasn’t dominated those matchups, it has gone over .500 with a 7-6 record.
With Mitchell out, the team will rely on Darius Garland to run the offense while players like Craig Porter Jr. and Sam Merrill could see more playing time. Merrill is one of the team’s best shooters and scored 21 points in the Cavs’ loss to New York on Sunday.
This season, Mitchell has played at a high level for the Cavs, and he appeared to be on his way to a second All-NBA selection in his career.
However, with the Cavs already ruling him out for the next three games, Mitchell’s missed games tally will go up to 16 games on the season, putting him dangerously close to missing the threshold for All-NBA honors in the 2023-24 season.
As part of the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement, there is a 65-game rule – a threshold in which players must reach to be considered for awards such as MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, the All-NBA teams and the All-Defensive teams.
With Mitchell set to miss the Cavs’ next three contests, he’d only be eligible for an All-NBA nod if he misses one or fewer games after that for the rest of the season.
It’s a shame that Mitchell’s knee injury could keep him off an All-NBA team, as he’s averaging 28.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game this season while shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from beyond the arc.
Despite that, the Cavs have to play things safe with the star guard, as the team needs him healthy for the playoffs if it wants to compete for an NBA title.
