CLEVELAND — All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell underwent a “medical procedure” to realign a broken nose suffered in Saturday’s loss to the Houston Rockets and will be out for at least a week, the Cleveland Cavaliers said Tuesday.
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) March 19, 2024
The caveat here is Mitchell, who is sixth in the NBA in scoring at 27.4 points per game, had already declared himself out due to an ailing knee he said was too sore to continue playing.
In a news release announcing Mitchell’s broken nose — suffered when he collided with teammate Tristan Thompson — the Cavaliers said he would be “re-evaluated” in a week, which means his absence is probably going to go beyond that.
Mitchell, who is already ineligible for regular-season awards and All-NBA teams because of the number of games he’s missed (19 so far), had missed seven consecutive games due to a bone bruise on his left knee that was treated with a platelet injection, prior to a brief return of two contests before busting his nose.
Cleveland is currently in third in the Eastern Conference, one game behind the Milwaukee Bucks for second place, but only two ahead of the fourth-place New York Knicks and three in front of the fifth-place Orlando Magic.
The Cavaliers have 14 games remaining, including a home date with the Miami Heat Wednesday night.
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(Photo: Thomas Shea / USA Today)
