Mitchell will be taking a rest day before Tuesday’s showdown with the Boston Celtics.
The Cleveland Cavaliers will be without their star guard Donovan Mitchell when they take on the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday evening. Mitchell is listed on the injury report as being out due to rest. Evan Mobley could be back with the team as he is currently listed as probable after missing Friday’s game with an illness.
Taking a rest day here makes sense. The Cavs have not had two days off in a row since the season began three and a half weeks ago. Mitchell has played in each of those games and is averaging 24.6 points and 4.1 assists per game.
Mitchell might be in line to win Eastern Conference Player of the Week, or at least was before missing Sunday’s game. He has put up over 35 points in two games this week and is averaging 32 points on .471/.452/.846 shooting splits in his last three contests with 9.3 rebounds and 5 assists per game. If he were to win, it would be the third week in a row that a Cavalier has earned that distinction as Darius Garland is the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week.
Garland will have a chance to once again step up in Mitchell’s absence. He continues to play some of the best basketball of his career at the start of this season and will be able to showcase those skills again on Sunday.
The Cavaliers struggled without Mitchell last season as they went 12-15 in games he didn’t play. This team is better set up to withstand his absence considering the amount of depth they’ve displayed to start the year.
Cleveland should be expected to continue their 14-game winning streak to start the season even with Mitchell out. The Hornets aren’t a good team and will be playing the second night of a back-to-back as they picked up a win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.
The extra day off should allow Mitchell to be recharged for the biggest game of the season so far on Tuesday when they take on the Boston Celtics on the road in the group play of the NBA Cup.