Donovan Mitchell questionable as Cleveland Cavaliers try to stave off Indiana Pacers

CLEVELAND – The Cleveland Cavaliers’ season and any chance they have at pulling off an epic comeback rest squarely on Donovan Mitchell’s sprained left ankle.

The six-time National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star and face of the franchise aggravated an existing injury on May 11 while warming up at half-time of a 129-109 blowout loss to the host Indiana Pacers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

Mitchell underwent an MRI on his ankle on May 12, but the Cavaliers did not disclose details. They later listed him as questionable on the official NBA injury report for Game 5.

Fourth-seeded Indiana lead the series 3-1 and can eliminate the top-seeded Cavaliers in their building on May 13 (May 14, Singapore time). The Pacers have won all four of their games in Cleveland during the 2024-25 regular season and play-offs.

“It’s not the where, it’s the how,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said on May 12, after practice in Indianapolis. “We have a very good idea what kind of environment it’s going to be tomorrow with the desperation.

“Maintaining the edge is the challenge. The emotions are high, but you have to maintain an even temperament the best you can.”

No one has been better doing that than Indiana power forward Pascal Siakam and centre Myles Turner, whose consistency has been admirable as they have outplayed Cavaliers centre Jarrett Allen and NBA Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley.

Siakam and Turner combined for 41 points and 13 rebounds, compared to 12 points and seven boards for their Cleveland counterparts in Game 4. Indiana built an NBA play-off record-tying 41-point half-time lead, despite the ejection of rugged reserve Bennedict Mathurin.

“We’re in a situation where, at the end of the day, nobody really cared to see us win,” Siakam said, referring to out-of-market fans.

“So when you have that and you have that belief like it’s us against everybody, we are where we are. That’s our team.”

All-Star point guard Darius Garland (toe sprain), Mobley (ankle) and swingman De’Andre Hunter (thumb) all missed Game 2 – a devastating 120-119 home loss by the Cavaliers – before returning for both contests in Indiana.

Mitchell has been magnificent in averaging 34.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.8 steals in the series, even while dealing with a sore calf, but is going to need much more help to extend Cleveland’s post-season.

The Cavaliers have never won a series after losing the first two games at home.

“This franchise has been down 3-1 before,” Garland said, referring to the 2016 NBA Finals when the LeBron James and Kyrie Irving-led squad beat Golden State three straight games to win Cleveland’s only league championship.

“This group can do it. We’ve got the talent, we’ve got the skill set, the camaraderie is always there. Just play our brand of basketball.”

Through four games, the Pacers have prevented them from doing it, in particular from long distance.

The Cavaliers ranked second in the league with a 38.3 three-point percentage in the regular season, but are at 30.2 per cent in this series.

Sixth Man of the Year finalist Ty Jerome is at an abysmal 15.4 per cent, and Hunter and stretch forward Dean Wade are both shooting 22.2 per cent beyond the arc.

Making wide-open threes helped Cleveland win 64 times in the regular season, only for the Cavs to fail at it through four games this round.

“They’ve raised their game to another level and we didn’t match it,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We talked about it. We knew it was coming.

“You try to prepare your guys mentally, but for whatever reason they were at another level.”

Also on May 13, the Oklahoma City Thunder host the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semi-finals with the series tied at 2-2.

Off the court, NBC made a big splash on May 12, announcing that Hall of Famer Michael Jordan will be a special contributor to its NBA coverage beginning this fall.

NBC’s 11-year agreement with the league begins with the 2025-26 season. The network did not disclose details regarding Jordan’s specific role.

Regardless, it will mark his first TV role covering the league in any capacity since retiring in 2003 with six NBA championships and five Most Valuable Player gongs.

Jordan, 62, owned the Charlotte Hornets from 2010 to 2023.
REUTERS