The Cleveland Cavaliers fought hard this season, and the result was their position as the fourth seed and home-court advantage for the playoffs. Donovan Mitchell undoubtedly played a huge role in leading the team to a 48-34 record this season. And this was after succumbing to injuries and playing just 55 games. It is the second time in his career that he’s playing less than 60 games.

As the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is preparing to welcome Orlando Magic, the tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 PM ET. Looking at the NBA injury report, the Cavs have three players listed as ‘Out’. Craig Porter (ankle), Ty Jerome (ankle), and Dean Wade (knee) are all sidelined. But for Orlando, there has been no one on the injury report until now.

Mitchell’s knee injury since the All-Star break has been a pain point for the team following the same. In the final 29 games, the Cavs finished with a 12-17 record. And among this, the ‘Spida’ was absent for 18, leaving them with a 6-12 record in his absence after the All-Star game.

Perhaps the most prominent struggle for Cleveland was seen during their final season game against the lowly Hornets. Charlotte finished their season with a 120-110 win against a team that was in the top 5 in the East. Many believe that they did so to match up against the fifth-seeded Magic. Had they won, they could have easily been the second seed.

Donovan Mitchell Stats

The rumors of Mitchell leaving Cleveland have been circulating pretty fast. But with no official confirmation on the same yet, the team is more focused on getting past the fourth-youngest team in the NBA in Game 1 of the playoffs. The two have faced off four times in the regular season, finishing the series with a tie at 2-2. Mitch was absent for just one game.

But in the three he was present, Donovan averaged 27.3 points, 7.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds. It’s clear that he has to have a similar or even better outing in the coming games against a 2023 ROTY Poalo Banchero-led Magic team. For the season, Mitchell is averaging numbers that have remained consistent throughout his career. He has 26.6 points, 6.1 assists, and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 46.2% from the field and 36.8% from the three-point line.

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The Cavs’ superstar is not behind in playoff experience either. Since his time at Utah, Donovan Mitchell has been a regular face in the postseason. In fact, the 2020 playoffs saw him leading all players in points per game at 36.3 in seven games. His career average in the playoffs shows an even better stat line with 27.8 points, 5.0 assists, and 5.0 rebounds in 44 games.

Another factor that will probably motivate this group is that the only time the Cavs and Magic have squared off is in the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals. And the Magic walked away with six wins at the end. Just saying, you know? Thoughts?