Mitchell will be re-evaluated in a week for broken nose

The Cavs will be without Mitchell for at least the next four games.

The curse that’s repeatedly caused Darius Garland to get needlessly hit in the face has spread to his backcourt mate. The Cleveland Cavaliers announced that Donovan Mitchell underwent a procedure on Monday morning to “realign the affected area.” He will be re-evaluated in approximately a week.

Missing at least a week would cause Mitchell to sit out four games at a minimum. The Cavaliers play the Miami Heat twice, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Charlotte Hornets in the next seven days.

The fractured nose is on top of the knee injury that kept Mitchell out of the lineup for seven games and made him say after the loss to the Houston Rockets that he came back too early. Mitchell broke his nose that same game after colliding with Tristan Thompson’s elbow.

There are absolutely no positives to breaking your nose. However, this will force Mitchell to stay out longer than he might’ve otherwise if his knee was the only issue. Hopefully, this will give him the necessary time off for his knee to make a more complete recovery.

The Cavs need the best version of Mitchell in the playoffs next month if they’re going to make any noise. The version we saw in the two games he played after the PRP injection on March 4 was far from that. Only three of his 29 shots in those two games came at the rim which is uncharacteristic for someone whose offensive game is predicated on attacking the basket.

The Cavs are currently 9-9 without Mitchell this season. This is reflected in their mediocre -2.1 net rating without him. For comparison, their net rating is 10.9 points better when Mitchell is on the court (95th percentile). Mitchell is averaging 27.4 points on .468/.373/.862 shooting splits with career highs in assists (6.1), rebounds (5.3), and steals (1.8) per game this season.