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CLEVELAND (AP)— Donovan Mitchell is anticipated to be fit for the Cleveland Cavaliers’ postseason campaign, even though he has been sidelined for the last four games of the regular season due to an ankle sprain.
The all-star guard sustained the injury on April 6 during the latter half of the match against the Sacramento Kings. He engaged in a workout on the court prior to Sunday’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers after completing a rigorous training session at the team’s facility on Saturday.
“I expect him to fully participate in practice. We’ll likely have to do some scrimmaging, probably with the officials involved, and he’ll be part of that,” said coach Kenny Atkinson. “The key focus will be on how we manage his ankle rehabilitation and overall conditioning.”
Mitchell was among nine players, including four starters, that the Cavaliers rested for their final regular-season game on Sunday. The Cavaliers (63-18) are heading into the playoffs as the top seed in the Eastern Conference for just the fourth time in the team’s history and for the first time since they secured the NBA championship in 2016.
As the top seed, Cleveland will not play its first playoff game until April 20, as the eighth seed in the East will not be decided until the conclusion of the final play-in tournament games on Friday.
Mitchell leads the Cavaliers in scoring, averaging 24 points per game, and he is the sole player in the league with an average of at least 24 points while playing 32 minutes or less.
