Cavs Notes: Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus, Injuries, Playoff Positioning

Quick random dribbles/notes ahead of the Cavaliers’ road game against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday:

1. It’s hard to believe, but the Cavs can be excited about some things that they had hoped would be the case for the majority of the season, if not all of it.

2. That would the impending returns of All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell and starting wing Max Strus. As soon as Darius Garland and Evan Mobley returned, Mitchell and Strus went down. And maybe it wasn’t immediately after, but it sure was close enough.

3. With 10 games left, that’s what is on everyone’s mind — will the Cavs be healthy enough for the playoffs? Also, will their starters get enough reps together in these final few weeks of the regular season?

4. Those things are hard to predict, but hey, at least there appear to be signs of hope. Having Mitchell healthy and at his best really is the key to everything.

5. One NBA legend told me that there has to be something to all these injuries leaguewide. “I don’t get it,” he said. “Key players are injured more than ever. These are real injuries, not made up. We used to have to play through them. I think the way they go about it today is better for the (player) but definitely worse for the league as a product.”

6. I don’t really have an opinion on that. The injuries are indeed real. But all I know is players miss considerably more games than when I first started watching the NBA. It’s not even close. Are they possibly overtained? I know I’ve been at a few games where the Cavs have held private practices … before the game!

7. Seriously, we’re talkin’ about practice before a game. This follows shootaround and other times on the court, such as pregame warmups, etc. I’m not a doctor or anything close to an expert. But with all these injuries, it’s easy to think NBA coaches may be running the players into the ground.

8. Remember, the league had to institute a rule that there can be no practices on days after back-to-back games. I guarantee you there would be if the league didn’t mandate against it. How much time on the court is too much? I think it’s something the NBA notes here soon.

9. Anyway, back to the Cavs (44-28). They’ve been very good against teams with losing records this season, as their game notes reveal. Hopefully for their sake, they can keep it going vs. the Hornets. The Eastern Conference race is really tightening up. Cleveland is just a half-game ahead of New York for the third spot and 1.5 in front of Orlando for fifth.

10. I don’t think the Cavs need to care about falling to fourth. That may be preferable actually, giving them a first-round matchup with the Magic — as opposed to, say, Philadelphia with Joel Embiid. The Sixers very well could finish sixth and then get Embiid back for the playoffs. Yeah, no thanks.

11. All I know is when this team is healthy, I believe it’s a joy to watch and truly legit. Let’s just hope the Cavs can get there to give themselves a fighting chance.