Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell out for visit to Trail Blazers

Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell is sitting out for the purpose of rest for Tuesday’s road game against the Trail Blazers, per the official NBA injury report.

It will mark Mitchell’s second rest game in a little more than a week and first on the West Coast swing. The Cavaliers (57-14) are trying to get their players ready for the playoffs while attempting to wrap up the No. 1 overall seed in the Eastern Conference.

They currently lead the defending champion Celtics by 4.5 games with 11 to go. The NBA injury report officially lists Mitchell as out for “left groin injury management.” 

He has struggled with his shot for most of March, though coach Kenny Atkinson and Mitchell have both indicated the injury is nothing serious. He is just 6-of-42 shooting on 3-pointers over the past five games combined, including 0-of-13 in the last two.

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The Cavs had lost four straight, after winning 16 straight, before defeating the Jazz in Utah on Sunday. They will finally return home on Thursday, when they host the Spurs. After that, they’re right back on the road to face former coach J.B. Bickerstaff and the rising Pistons on Friday.

Mitchell is averaging 23.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists this season as the Cavs are first in the NBA in points per game and offensive rating.

“We really look at the NBA game as, like, it’s 2K for real,” Mitchell told SLAM. “He’s never played with a ball-dominant guard, and I haven’t either, so that takes time for us to continue doing what [we do]. [Fifty-one] games the first year. That’s success, and people don’t look at us as that, but that’s success in itself. OK, we failed in the playoffs. Cool, next year, boom.

“Everybody gets hurt, different things, but we finally win a playoff series, first time. That’s another step. Now we’re at the top of the league, but at the end of the day, this really don’t mean nothing until we do something in the playoffs.”