The Cleveland Cavaliers will be without their star guard Donovan Mitchell against the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday evening. Mitchell is listed on the injury report as out due to rest. Evan Mobley could be back with the team as he is currently considered probable after missing Friday’s game due to an illness.
Taking a rest day here makes sense. The Cavs haven’t had two days off in a row since the season started 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 could be in line to be Eastern Conference Player of the Week, or at least was before missing Sunday’s game. He has scored over 35 points in two games this week and is averaging 32 points on .471/.452/.846 shooting splits in his last three games with 9.3 rebounds and 5 assists per game. If he were to win, it would be the third straight week a Cavalier has earned that distinction, as Darius Garland is the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week.
Garland will get the chance to perform again in Mitchell’s absence. He continues to play the best basketball of his career early this season and will be able to showcase those skills again on Sunday.
The Cavaliers struggled without Mitchell last season, going 12-15 in games he didn’t play. This team is better prepared for his absence given the amount of depth they’ve shown to start the year.
Cleveland can be expected to continue its 14-game winning streak to start the season even with Mitchell out. The Hornets are not a good team and will be playing the second night of a back-to-back, as they earned a win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.
The extra day off should allow Mitchell to recharge for the biggest game of the season so far on Tuesday, when they take on the Boston Celtics on the road in NBA Cup group play.
