Donovan Mitchell dealt with injury woes after the All-Star break. The Cleveland Cavaliers fell in the Eastern Conference standings going just 12-17 after the All-Star Game.
Finishing with a 48-34 record, the Cavaliers enter the playoffs as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. They will take on the Orlando Magic in the opening round of the postseason. DraftKings Sportsbook lists Cleveland as -195 favorites to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
ROUND ONE’S SCHEDULE IS HERE.
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The Cavaliers and Magic split their four matchups this season last playing on February 22. The only other time they met head-to-head in the playoffs was in 2009. That was the Eastern Conference Finals where the Magic won in six games. Entering the playoffs, Donovan Mitchell seems to be confident that he will be at his best.
Cavaliers Star Proclaims To Be ‘100 Percent’
Why has Mitchell Mostly Been Sidelined of Late?
In Cleveland’s 29 games after the All-Star break, the 27-year-old Mitchell only appeared in 11 of them. In the 18 outings he missed, the team went just 6-12. At Wednesday’s practice, the five-time All-Star stated that he was ‘100 percent’. A sore left knee has proven to be problematic for Mitchell over the last couple of months. He had a platelet-rich plasma injection on that knee while also receiving plenty of rest to help get it back to normal strength.
Mitchell Was Looking Like he Lacked his Explosiveness
After the All-Star break, Mitchell found himself on and off the court in intervals. The 2017-18 Rookie of the Year missed the first two games post-All-Star Game before playing the next three. Mitchell then missed seven contests in a row before appearing in the next two. He then missed six outings in a row before playing in six of Cleveland’s last nine games.
In the nine games he played from February 25 until April 6, Mitchell averaged 16.9 points on just 37.8% percent field goal shooting. That’s a far cry from the 26.6 he averaged on the season.
Mitchell began to resemble the perennial All-Star in his last two games though. On April 10 against the Memphis Grizzlies, Mitchell poured in 29 points on 9-17 shooting. On April 12 against the Indiana Pacers, Mitchell dropped 31 points. That was his first 30-point outing since February 27.
Cavaliers Looking for Different Result Than Last Season
For the second straight season, the Cavaliers enter the postseason as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. They are hoping they do not exit after one round like they did last season despite have home-court advantage in the series.
Last year, they took on the New York Knicks in the opening round of the playoffs. After Cleveland evened the series at 1-1 by winning Game 2, the Knicks took the next three games by a combined 40 points.
With just one year remaining on his contract this season, there have been recent reports stating that Cleveland may be forced to trade him due to a lack of an extension. If the team wants him to remain, it is probably in their best interest not to be eliminated in the first round back-to-back seasons.
