Cavs make final call on Donovan Mitchell’s status vs. Suns

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell reportedly is available for the team’s game against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night.

Mitchell missed the Cavs’ win over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, but it appears he’ll be good to go against Phoenix. Dean Wade, Isaac Okoro, Ty Jerome, Emoni Bates and Craig Porter Jr. are out for Cleveland.

The Cavs were able to beat the lowly Jazz without Mitchell, but there’s no doubt that the team will need him down the stretch of the regular season – and in the playoffs – if it wants to compete for a title.

Since the start of March, Mitchell has played in just four games due to injury troubles. He missed the team’s last game against the Suns back on March 11.

The All-Star guard has struggled in those four contests, averaging just 13.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 29.6 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from 3-point range. Those numbers are way off of Mitchell’s season-long averages.

An All-NBA selection last season, Mitchell is putting up 26.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game this season while shooting 46.3 percent from the field and 36.9 percent from beyond the arc.

Cleveland certainly is hoping he can find that form on Wednesday against a Phoenix team that is fighting for a top-six seed in the Western Conference.

The Suns come into this game with a 44-31 record and hold the No. 8 spot in the West. Phoenix is just one game back of the sixth-place New Orleans Pelicans and fifth-place Dallas Mavericks, who are both 45-30 in the 2023-24 campaign.

Cleveland is also battling for playoff positioning in the East, as the team holds the No. 3 spot in the conference. While the Suns may end up in the play-in tournament, the Cavs are hoping to get as high as the No. 2 seed in the East. They are just 1.5 games back of the Milwaukee Bucks for that spot, and the team has a 1.5-game cushion on both the Orlando Magic and New York Knicks for the No. 3 seed.

The Cavs and Suns are scheduled to tip off on Wednesday night at 10 p.m. EST from Phoenix’s Footprint Center.