Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell is not the patient type, but he understands that playing through his left knee bone bruise isn’t working.
After coming to that realization, Mitchell is expected to sit out when the visiting Cavaliers (42-25) face the Indiana Pacers (38-30) on Monday.
Mitchell’s knee bruise was clearly an issue on Saturday, when he was limited to 26 minutes in a 117-103 loss to the Houston Rockets. The five-time All-Star was playing in his second straight game following a seven-game absence.
Mitchell has scored fewer than 20 points in four of his last five games for Cleveland, which holds the third seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Cavaliers received a boost on Saturday when center Tristan Thompson returned from a 25-game NBA suspension for violating the league’s anti-drug policy by testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Thompson played 15 minutes off the bench and finished with five points and five rebounds.
If Mitchell needs to miss another stretch of games, Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff is confident in his team’s ability to adjust. He knows it will take a team effort to fill the scoring void left by Mitchell’s absence.
Cleveland has dropped its first two meetings this season against Indiana, including a 121-116 road loss on Nov. 3.
The Pacers maintained their sixth seed in the East with a 121-100 home win over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday. Pascal Siakam had 28 points and 11 rebounds in the victory, while Aaron Nesmith added 16.
Point guard Tyrese Haliburton has struggled with his 3-point shooting in recent weeks, but he is still filling the box score in other ways. Haliburton is averaging 17.6 points and 10 assists over his last 10 games.
Siakam has been a perfect fit with the Pacers since arriving in a trade with the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 17. The two-time All-Star was 11-of-22 shooting in the win over Brooklyn and also contributed 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Siakam hasn’t scored fewer than 12 points in 27 games with Indiana, but he isn’t at all concerned about his individual stats.
