The Cleveland Cavaliers will be without their leader for their most important game of the season thus far.
Cleveland announced on Monday that All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell will miss Game 4 against the Boston Celtics because of a strain to his left calf. The news comes as the Cavs face a 2-1 series deficit ahead of a must-win game at home in Cleveland.
Caris Levert will enter the starting five for the Cavs in Mitchell’s absence.
Mitchell was listed as questionable on the team’s injury report throughout the day and missed the open portion of shootaround on Monday morning. But the news still comes as a shocker since Mitchell played a team-high 43 minutes in Game 3 and scored 33 points on seven three-pointers.
If the injury is serious enough that it is causing Mitchell to sit out of a must-win playoff game, it does not look too good for his availability in Game 5 on Wednesday in Boston either. The Cavaliers are already down Jarrett Allen (rib), and their season is clearly on life support against the NBA-best Celtics right now. Meanwhile, given the recent rumors that we have heard, it is very possible that Mitchell has already played his final game in a Cavs uniform.
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