Latest on Donovan Mitchell, Cavs

The Cavaliers limped into Detroit, but maybe they won’t limp for long.

Coach Kenny Atkinson offered at least a little optimism on Donovan Mitchell’s groin injury, telling reporters, that he does not believe it’s a “long-term thing,” via Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

That qualifies as good news, considering the current state of the roster.

Mitchell has missed the past two games. So has James Harden, who is dealing with a fractured thumb on his non-shooting hand. And the injury list kept growing.

For Friday night’s matchup with the Pistons, the Cavs wwre without Mitchell, Harden, Dean Wade, Keon Ellis and Max Strus. In other words, that is a whole lot of rotation minutes in street clothes.

Cleveland has already been navigating life without Strus, and Harden’s absence removes the stabilizer who helped spark a 13-of-15 stretch earlier this month. Ellis and Wade have carved out meaningful roles as well.

The Cavs have dropped two of three and now head into a tough road test severely undermanned.

Still, the bigger picture matters more. If Mitchell’s groin issue truly is short term, Cleveland can breathe a little easier.

They just need to survive the meantime.