Donovan Mitchell Out For Game 4 Due To Calf Strain
Cavaliers leading scorer Donovan Mitchell will miss Game 4 against the Celtics tonight due to a left calf strain, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
The absence of Mitchell puts Cleveland in a dire situation as it tries to even the series. The Cavs trail the top-seeded Celtics, 2-1, after losing Game 3 on their home floor.
Mitchell was listed as questionable to play on Sunday’s injury report. Concern grew when he didn’t take part in the open portion of the team’s shootaround, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reports. Mitchell watched film and underwent treatment but did not warm up for the game.
“Just the other night, toward the back end of that fourth quarter, it just started to build on him and became sore,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said.
Mitchell scored a team-high 33 points in 43 minutes in Game 3.
Starting center Jarrett Allen also remains out due to a bruised rib. He hasn’t played since Game 4 of the team’s first-round series vs. Orlando.
Caris LeVert will start in place of Mitchell, while Isaac Okoro continues to start in Allen’s spot.
Central Notes: Mitchell, Pistons Draft, Olshey, Haliburton
Donovan Mitchell had 33 points in Game 3 of the Cavaliers’ series against the Celtics on Saturday but there’s no guarantee he’ll play in Game 4 on Monday night. He’s listed as questionable due to a left calf strain, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
Cavaliers starting center Jarrett Allen is also listed as questionable due to a bruised rib, which has kept him out of action for the past six playoff contests.
We have more from the Central Division:
- Now that the Pistons have slipped four notches in the draft lottery once again, they might as well explore all avenues to trade the No. 5 pick, James Edwards III of The Athletic opines. The last thing Detroit needs is another developmental player on their already too-young roster and they have to get veteran help to complement Cade Cunningham‘s skill set, Edwards reasons. Packaging the pick and one or two of their other young players might be an option.
- Scratch Neil Olshey‘s name off the list of potential candidates for the Pistons’ president of basketball operations opening, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. The former Trail Blazers executive declined the Pistons’ invitation to interview for the role. Another report surfaced on Sunday that the Bucks won’t allow their GM, Jon Horst, to interview for the job.
- Tyrese Haliburton emerged from Game 3 of the Pacers’ series against the Knicks with a variety of ailments, including a sprained ankle, lower back spasms and a sacral contusion. Haliburton fought through those injuries in Game 4 on Sunday, contributing 20 points and six assists in Indiana’s lopsided win. “It felt good,” Haliburton said, per Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “We have the best medical staff in the NBA, so it’s been around-the-clock treatment. All things necessary for me to be good to go. Very appreciative of them. Now it’s just time for more treatment after this and I’ll be ready to go for Game 5.”
Cavaliers Notes: Mitchell, Game 3, Tweaks
The recent performances of Cavaliers players not named Donovan Mitchell are certainly not endearing Cleveland to the All-Star shooting guard, opines Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
On Saturday, the Cavaliers fell 106-93 to the Celtics in Game 3 of their ongoing second round matchup, which Cleveland now trails 2-1. Boston led for almost 42 of the contest’s 48 minutes, including by double digits for much of the second half.
Cleveland especially struggled on offense, making just 13 three point shots.
“At the end of the day, we didn’t score,” Mitchell said. “We didn’t score when we needed to respond back. We’ll be better. This series is not going to be easy. Continue to fight and claw like we have been.”
“A lot of it was self-induced,” Mitchell said of the defeat. “I think a lot of things we did wrong. You give them credit. But there were a bunch of things that we could have done better.”
Across the past five playoff games, Mitchell has score over 180 points and nailed 20 or more triples on 50% from the field or better. It’s the second time he’s achieved this feat. He’s also the only player in league history to have achieved this, per Fedor. His Cleveland comrades couldn’t help handle the offensive load effectively. He has one guaranteed season left on his current contract, and could ask for a trade this summer.
There’s more out of Cleveland:
- After the Game 3 defeat, Mitchell seemed more noticeably upset than he had been at any prior point in the playoffs, notes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “We held them to 106, and that’s not a bad defensive game against a team like that, but it’s the key moments of when they get those points, the runs they get and then not being able to score back on the other end,” Mitchell said. “It just compounds, and it compounds. I think that’s the frustrating part of it.” With Game 4 forthcoming on Monday, the Cavaliers have little time to mope.
- To win Game 4 and level the series, it may behoove the Cavaliers to consider starting newly-returned forward Dean Wade in the stead of defense-first Isaac Okoro, and tinkering more with a smaller lineup comprising Mitchell, Darius Garland, Sam Merrill, Caris LeVert and Evan Mobley, opines Jason Lloyd of The Athletic.
- In case you missed it, the Cavaliers are considered to potentially be interested in trading for star Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram this summer, along with the Hawks.
Cavs Notes: Mitchell, Game 7 Win, Celtics Series, Garland
Entering this year’s postseason, Donovan Mitchell had been knocked out of the playoffs in the first round in back-to-back years – and four of the last five – with the Cavaliers and Jazz. He said after Sunday’s Game 7 win that he was determined not to let that happen again, according to Kendra Andrews of ESPN.
“I’m tired of losing in the first round,” Mitchell said. “You work too hard. We work too hard. That was my mindset … for me, just be in attack mode. I’m battling through what I’m battling through, but I could battle through it and figure it out, or rehab it for the next three or four months. That’s where I’m at mentally.”
Mitchell, who continues to deal with a knee issue that seemed to be bothering him on Sunday, got off to a slow start in Game 7, but went on a huge run after the Magic built an 18-point lead midway through the second quarter. At one point, Andrews notes, Mitchell outscored Orlando 20-19 on his own from the middle of the second quarter through the end of the third. As Andrews details, head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said the star guard – who finished with 39 points – was leading the way for the Cavs not just with his play on the court but with his attitude during the comeback.
“[Mitchell is] the guy that can pull everybody along, not just with his skill but in spirit as well,” Bickerstaff said. “When you see your teammate, a guy you care about playing that way, you don’t want to let that guy down so you go out and do whatever you can to help that guy. We talk about how everybody has their style and their piece of leadership here and that’s how Don leads, by being special in the moment. His teammates want to be a part of it.”
Here’s more on the Cavs:
- The first-round victory over Orlando represents the first time Cleveland has won a playoff series since LeBron James‘ 2018 departure, but simply advancing to the second round isn’t the goal. As Andrews relays, Bickerstaff told reporters that “we’re not done yet” and his players echoed that message. “We didn’t make the group we made just to come in and win the first round,” Mitchell said. “We accomplished one goal, now we have to do it again. That’s the mindset. … When they traded for me, it wasn’t just to win a first-round series, it was to continue to push and move forward. And I think that’s where all of our heads are at.”
- As Joe Vardon of The Athletic writes, the Cavaliers made just 28.7% of their three-point shots vs. Orlando, were out-rebounded, committed more turnovers and fouls, and were outscored by 31 points over the seven-game series. It wasn’t the sort of performance that inspires much confidence in their chances vs. the league-best Celtics, but Mitchell doesn’t mind entering that series as underdogs. “For us coming into Boston, I’m pretty sure everybody thinks they’re going to come in and kick our ass,” Mitchell said. “(We need to) continue to stay level-headed throughout, not listen to, well, y’all, and just be who we are. That’s the biggest thing.”
- It was an up-and-down series for Mitchell’s backcourt mate Darius Garland, who played well in Games 5 and 6 but averaged just 12.0 points per game on 41.9% shooting in the first four games of the series and contributed 12 points on 3-of-13 shooting on Sunday. However, as Tom Withers of The Associated Press details, Garland made a big three-pointer in the fourth quarter off an assist from Mitchell, who hugged him after the shot forced a Magic timeout. “He knew that I was a little bit down in the first half, but he kept trusting me,” Garland said. “It’s cool just having him in my ear a little bit, just telling me to keep going, stay confident in myself. I really needed it.”
Central Notes: Pistons’ Depth, Trade Options, Mitchell
The depth of this season’s playoff rosters serves as a reminder that the Pistons are severely lacking in that department, suggests Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press.
Sankofa points to the five rotation players on the West’s top-seeded Thunder who went undrafted or were second-round picks as something of an indictment on Detroit’s inability to find much value at that stage of the draft (or after the draft) in recent years. Sankofa also takes current lead front office architect Troy Weaver to task for whiffing on several deeper picks and fringe roster free agency signings during his tenure.
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- The Pistons seem poised to try to make significant personnel changes this summer, opines James Edwards III of The Athletic. Edwards and a few other staffers on The Athletic break down potential trade targets and packages for the rebuilding club, including former All-Stars like Brandon Ingram and Lauri Markkanen.
- Even with rumors swirling around Donovan Mitchell‘s long-term future with the Cavaliers, the star guard managed to pull off a winning performance in the team’s Game 7 comeback victory against the Magic on Sunday, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. After pouring in 50 points in a losing Game 6 effort against Orlando, Mitchell scored 39 points in Sunday’s 106-94 elimination contest win. Thus far in these playoffs, he’s averaging 28.7 PPG on .459/.250/.824 shooting, with 5.0 RPG, 4.4 APG and 1.4 SPG.
- In case you missed it, long-injured Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball picked up his $21.4MM player option for the 2024/25 season, as had long been expected.
Heat Notes: Martin, Second Apron, Spoelstra, Butler
Caleb Martin said at Friday’s exit interviews that his preference is to remain with the Heat, but Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald explains that the team’s financial situation may not make that realistic. Martin has a $7.1MM player option for next season, which he’s expected to turn down to seek a longer and more lucrative contract in free agency.
“Everybody knows I want to be here. I make that known,” Martin told reporters. “That’s my goal is to be able to stay here, make it work. I want to be here as long as possible and for them to want me to come back. That’s my main goal.”
As we noted recently, it will be difficult for Miami to re-sign Martin and free agent Haywood Highsmith without crossing the second tax apron for next season. Chiang points out that the Heat have seven players under contract for 2024/25, and assuming Kevin Love, Josh Richardson and Thomas Bryant all pick up their options, the team salary would be around $173MM with five slots left to fill.
Adding $4.2MM for the 15th pick in the draft, another $2.1MM for Orlando Robinson‘s contract, which is non-guaranteed for next season, and $2.5MM in unlikely bonuses for Tyler Herro, which have to be included for apron calculations, brings that total to $181.8MM for 12 players. That’s already above the projected first apron of $179MM and only $8.2MM away from the severe restrictions that are part of the second apron.
There’s more from Miami:
- Coach Erik Spoelstra rejects the idea that the Heat didn’t place enough emphasis on the regular season and didn’t make a strong attempt to avoid the play-in tournament, per Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. After advancing from the play-in to the NBA Finals last year, there was a perception that Miami was content to try to do it again, which led to a bad first-round matchup with Boston. “To say that we did not philosophically take the regular season seriously, that’s totally off base,” Spoelstra said. “I could see why people would point to that because of missed games. We’re not a load-management team. There were things that happened and sometimes you can’t control that.”
- With Jimmy Butler expected to seek a two-year extension worth about $113MM, ESPN’s Zach Lowe speculated on his latest podcast that Butler could be on the trade market this summer (hat tip to Bleacher Report). “There are scenarios, let’s just say, where the Heat trade Jimmy Butler for some future assets and some other stuff,” Lowe said, “… and that gives them the ammo to go out and call the Cavs, and say, ‘Hey, what about Donovan Mitchell?'” Butler is under contract through next season and has a $52.4MM player option for 2025/26.
- Butler made some pointed comments about two Eastern Conference rivals and one of his former coaches (Twitter link from Rock the Bells). “If I was playing, Boston would be at home,” said Butler, who missed the first-round series with an MCL sprain. “New York damn sure would be f—ing at home.” Butler also rejected the idea that Josh Hart could guard him and said he has “love” for Tom Thibodeau but wouldn’t be interested in playing for him again. “I love Thibs but I don’t want Thibs,” Butler continued. “I love you baby, but I want to beat you to a pulp. You want me. I don’t want you. It’s like a one-sided relationship. You in love with me and I love you but I’m not in love with you.”
Heat Notes: Butler, Herro, Trade Assets, Bam
All-NBA Heat forward Jimmy Butler is expected to seek a two-year, maximum-salary contract extension with Miami, worth approximately $113MM, before the start of the 2024/25 season, a source tells Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
The theoretical deal would kick in for 2025/26. Butler has a $52.4MM player option for that year, which the extension would replace.
If Miami opts to not extend Butler, Chiang argues, the team could be faced with an unhappy star. The 34-year-old swingman led the Heat to two NBA Finals appearances – and an additional appearance in the Eastern Finals – during his first four seasons with the club, though he has dealt with a series of injuries, including an MCL sprain that knocked him entirely out of the playoffs this year.
Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald speculates about the potential trade haul Miami could receive in exchange for its best player should the team opt not to extend Butler.
There’s more out of Miami:
- Following a first-round playoff elimination marred by injuries, the Heat face a variety of questions about their future this offseason. The biggest, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel contends, surrounds what Miami brass wants to do with shooting guard Tyler Herro. Winderman wonders if Miami will look to trade the 2022 Sixth Man of the Year this summer, or if it will consider demoting him back to a bench role going forward. Herro is owed $93MM across the remaining three years of his deal.
- With the Heat set to explore the trade market this summer, Jackson takes stock of the club’s movable assets, consulting with a rival scout on the value of those pieces. The scout criticized Herro’s inconsistency both as a player and as an injury risk. As far as young players still on rookie scale deals go, the scout is high on the ceilings of forwards Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic. The scout also addressed the contracts of guards Duncan Robinson and Terry Rozier, Miami being a potential trade destination for Cavaliers All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, and more.
- One fascinating potential internal change the Heat could consider, according to one alum who still works for the franchise, is shifting All-Star center Bam Adebayo from center to power forward, writes Jackson in another piece. While on the ESPN program “First Take” this week, 20-year Miami vet Udonis Haslem explained why he thinks the 6’9″ big man could benefit from a positional move. “He can guard all five positions but he would have even more of a matchup at the 4 position where we can post him up and do different things with him,” Haslem said. “Go for a center and possibly another scoring guard.” Haslem is currently the Heat’s vice president of basketball development, and also hosts a podcast with fellow ex-Heat champion Mike Miller.
Cavaliers Notes: Mitchell, Bickerstaff, Mobley, Garland
Donovan Mitchell accepted responsibility for the Cavaliers‘ woeful offense in Saturday’s loss at Orlando, writes Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Mitchell was held scoreless in the second half — and Cleveland only managed 29 points after intermission — in a lopsided loss that evened the series at 2-2.
“You can’t have a drought like that,” he said. “It starts with me. I didn’t score in the second half. I’ve been starting second halves like that all series. Ten points (for Cleveland in the third quarter) is outrageous. We have to be better. I have to be better. I’m disappointed in myself and I’ll be better.”
Mitchell has been much better in the first half than the second throughout the series, and the Magic were able to completely shut him down today, mostly through the work of Jalen Suggs, who limited Mitchell to 1-of-6 shooting with three turnovers as his primary defender. The Cavs will have to find a way to unleash Mitchell when the series resumes Tuesday to avoid a second straight first-round exit.
“It’s 2-2. You give credit where credit is due. They handled their business at home. That’s it,” Mitchell said. “It’s upsetting we didn’t respond, but we’ll find a way to do it at the crib like we did the first two games. Or else we will be home early. But they did for two games. We did it for two games. It’s best of three now.”
There’s more on the Cavaliers:
- For all the speculation about Mitchell’s extension, Cleveland may have to trade him this summer because he’s a bad fit with the rest of the team, contends Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Vardon notes that Mitchell has only produced two good playoff games since the Cavs traded for him last year, and the team is just 3-6 in the postseason with Mitchell. He has 15 turnovers and seven made threes in the current series while shooting just 25% from beyond the arc.
- J.B. Bickerstaff is being out-coached in a series where his job is probably on the line, Vardon states in the same story. Vardon believes Orlando’s Jamahl Mosley is making better adjustments to the extent that Cavs center Jarrett Allen seemed to question Bickerstaff’s defensive approach after the loss in Game 3.
- The long-term value of Evan Mobley and Darius Garland may also be reexamined if the Cavaliers can’t win the series, Vardon adds. Although Mobley has been a difference maker on defense since he entered the league, his offensive game hasn’t developed and the Magic are dominating him physically in the playoffs, just as New York did last year. Mobley will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer. Garland is in the first season of a five-year extension worth nearly $200MM, and Vardon wonders if the Cavs will be eager to keep both guards if they’re able to reach an extension with Mitchell.
Central Notes: Allen, Lillard, Rivers, Giannis, Pacers
Jarrett Allen has been a dominant force in the Cavaliers’ first two playoff games against the Magic. He’s averaging 16 points in the first-round series, while his 38 total rebounds are just 11 fewer than the 49 Orlando’s entire starting lineup has grabbed, Joe Vardon of The Athletic notes. Magic defensive star Jonathan Isaac only played 19 minutes in Game 2 due to Allen’s superiority.
The Cavaliers’ center has drawn extra motivation from his postseason clunker against the Knicks last season.
“He’s a prideful individual,” Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell said. “And I think that the way it happened last year, you could see it’s a motivating thing. I think it goes without saying. I think he’s shown it himself to us all season. I had no doubt that this is who he would be.”
We have more from the Central Division:
- Damian Lillard erupted for 35 points in Game 1 of the Bucks’ first-round series against the Pacers. The longtime All-Star guard was itching to get back into the postseason after a two-year absence with Portland, Jamal Collier of ESPN writes. “The last two years not being in the playoffs, it (stunk),” Lillard said. “Early vacations. Last year, I went to Coachella. I ain’t never been able to go to Coachella. Just having that long summer, I was over that. Being able to be in a playoff series on a championship team, championship organization, knowing that we got an opportunity for it, that was the thing I was looking forward to most.”
- Lillard and coach Doc Rivers had dinner together last Wednesday, where the main topic of conversation was boxing, not basketball. There’s a strong bond between coach and player, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “We’ve connected,” Lillard said. “I’ve always respected how he goes about being a coach. He says what’s unpopular. He’s not afraid to address s–t and I’m a fan of that. I like addressing the elephant in the room, the uncomfortable situations. My family, that’s how it’s always been. That’s how you move past stuff and grow. So I like that that has always been his style. He challenges the best players, in front of everybody. I think that’s how you get the most out of the team.”
- Not surprisingly, Giannis Antetokounmpo won’t play in Game 2 this evening, the team tweets. The Bucks superstar had been listed as doubtful due to a calf injury suffered late in the regular season.
- The Pacers got a big-time wake-up call in Game 1, scoring a season-low in points against a perennial playoff contender, Kelly Iko of The Athletic notes. “The first half was embarrassing,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “No excuses. We simply have got to come out better. It was ugly, and we all own it. … They looked like the experienced team. We looked inexperienced. That led to a lot of problems early. You can talk about how different (the playoffs) are, but actually experiencing it is another thing. We were very poor and have to be way better.”
Cavaliers Notes: Mitchell, Extension, Thompson, Allen
Donovan Mitchell backed up his claim that his troublesome left knee is now “100 percent” as he led the Cavaliers past Orlando in their series opener this afternoon, writes Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Mitchell didn’t seem slowed by the knee at all as he carved up the Magic’s defense for 30 points while shooting 11-of-21 from the field and 3-of-8 from three-point range.
“It’s all about setting a tone,” Mitchell said. “This is exciting and I love it and it’s great but in the same token, this game is only one game. This is trying to set that tone, but now we have to do it again and again.”
Although his teams have enjoyed limited playoff success, Mitchell has established himself as one of the premier postseason scorers of the era, Andrews notes. Today marked his fifth straight Game 1 with at least 30 points, which is the longest current streak and is tied for sixth-best all-time. He’s reached at least 30 points 21 times in his first 45 postseason games.
“He’s ready for the moment,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “And it’s the Game 1s. It’s the bigger games during the regular season. Like, he has the ability and the understanding of how important the start is. … Some people may have that idea or thought and understanding of it. But he’s got the ability to time and time [again] go to that space.”
There’s more from Cleveland:
- Mitchell began the playoffs amid speculation regarding how much longer he’ll be in Cleveland, notes Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. Lloyd contends that Mitchell’s best move would be to sign an extension, which could be worth more than $200MM over four years, pointing out that he has played his best basketball since joining the Cavaliers and it would give the core of the team more time to grow together. Mitchell could always request a trade in another year or two if things don’t work out, Lloyd adds. An unidentified executive tells Josh Robbins and Sam Amick of The Athletic that several teams are prepared to pursue Mitchell if the Cavs suffer an early playoff exit and decide to make him available.
- The Cavaliers learned how tough the playoffs can be in last year’s first-round ouster against New York, and they hope to build on that experience against a young Orlando team, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “For the veterans … we’ve been in playoff series, been in a handful up or down,” Tristan Thompson said. “We know what it takes, so I think it’s a good combination. We have guys who’ve had success, but also guys who have had failure and are hungry for (another opportunity).”
- After the Cavs were dominated on the boards by the Knicks last year, Bickerstaff challenged his team to win the rebounding battle against the Magic, and they responded with a 54-40 advantage in Game 1, notes Nate Ulrich of The Akron Beacon Journal. “Just go get the ball at any cost,” Jarrett Allen said. “It doesn’t matter if you’ve got to push your man to go get the ball or jump over somebody’s back, just come up with a rebound.”