Mitchell played the final 15 minutes in Sunday’s loss to the Kings after rolling his ankle.
The Cleveland Cavaliers‘ postseason success now rests on Donovan Mitchell’s left ankle. He rolled it after stepping on Keon Ellis’s foot while running back on defense early in the third quarter during the loss to the Sacramento Kings.
Mitchell didn’t let that injury keep him out for even a full quarter.
“I had a discussion with him,” Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said postgame when asked about the decision to put Mitchell back into the game.
“I said, ‘Listen, if it’s even 5% where you’re a little weak or whatever, or it’s bothering you … You got to tell me so we can get you out.’ We have multiple games to try to clinch this thing (the one seed in the Eastern Conference) … We don’t have to do it tonight. He said he was fine.”
Mitchell played the final 15 minutes of the game, including the entire fourth quarter. He scored five quick points at the start of the fourth and dished four assists. It didn’t appear to be too big of a concern for him then.
After the game was a different story.
Mitchell was hobbling around the locker room and seemed to be in some discomfort to say the least. He was reluctant to admit that though.
“[I’ve] never been better,” Mitchell said when asked about limping around the locker room. “I’m going to let tomorrow be tomorrow and then go from there.”
It’s fair to question the decision-making process that let him finish the game considering how Mitchell looked afterward.
“I want to get the one seed,” Mitchell said when asked why he returned. “If I’m able to go, I’m able to go. Obviously, I’m a little hobbled after the first adrenaline rush, or probably the first, I don’t know, five to 10 minutes. But I’m trying to win. I’m trying to have my team win any way possible.”
Mitchell’s competitive spirit is admirable. It has, however, also gotten the best of him late in previous seasons. Last year he attempted to come back from a knee injury too early and was forced to spend a few more weeks sidelined. It flared up again in the playoffs and caused him to miss the final two games against the Boston Celtics.
We don’t know if trying to come back early led to the injury that kept him out of the playoffs. But what we do know is that Mitchell can let his desire to win overestimate his health and ability to play. That might’ve happened again on Sunday.
The Cavs will only go as far as Mitchell takes them in the playoffs, which will likely start two weeks from today. We’ve seen that over the last two years, and nothing from this season should make you believe otherwise.
Right now, Mitchell can only go as far as his left ankle allows.
“We’ll let tomorrow be tomorrow,” Mitchell said. “I’m not going to sit here and assess the future until we figure out what’s ahead. So right now, obviously I’m gonna be smart, but you know, figure out when it gets to it and be ready.”