Donovan

Mitchell

Garland will not play in Sunday’s regular season finale after leading the Cavaliers to a win over the Knicks on Friday. Mitchell will miss a fourth-straight game with a sprained ankle, but he should be fine to begin the playoffs next weekend. Cleveland is locked into the one-seed in the East and will sit most of its rotation players on Sunday. Craig Porter Jr. and Jaylon Tyson should play plenty against the Pacers.

Mitchell is still recovering from the ankle injury that’s caused him to miss his team’s last two games. Hunter will get the night off after helping the undermanned Cavs battle the Pacers on Thursday. Craig Porter Jr. and Isaac Okoro could be called upon to step up as starters or featured reserves on Friday.

Mitchell sprained his left ankle during the third quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Kings. While he did return later in the quarter, there’s no reason for the Cavaliers not to give their star guard a night off. Sam Merrill was Mitchell’s replacement the last time he missed a game, which may be the case on Tuesday. While this would boost Merrill’s fantasy value slightly, he is not a must-stream player.

Mitchell tweaked his left ankle during the third quarter of Sunday’s game but returned after a quick trip to the locker room. With the Cavaliers close to locking up home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs, he may not be guaranteed to play all four of Cleveland’s Week 23 games. That could be problematic for Mitchell managers whose leagues run through the end of the NBA regular season.

Mitchell has now scored at least 24 points in each of his last five games. The 28-year-old shooting guard made six three-pointers, which is the most he’s had in a game since January 26, when he had seven three-pointers against the 76ers. Mitchell has been a top-five fantasy player over the last week.

After a slow first half, Mitchell kicked into high gear in the second, as Cleveland stormed back and won comfortably. He’s scored at least 24 points in four straight games, which is one reason why he’s provided top-5 value in eight- and nine-cat formats over the past week. The Cavaliers end Week 22 with games against the Spurs and Kings, which are good matchups for Mitchell. However, with Cleveland closing in on the one-seed in the East, fantasy managers will hope he isn’t given a night off in advance for the playoffs.

Mitchell finished behind only Jarrett Allen (25) for team lead in scoring, and he tied Allen in rebounds and Darius Garland in assists. Spida has been tremendous across his last three. He delivered a double-double with 14 assists against the Spurs, dropped 38 against the Pistons and compiled a double-double with rebounds as Cleveland became the first team in the Eastern Conference with 60 wins. He’ll look to keep up his stellar play when the Cavs face the Knicks in a heavyweight bout on Wednesday. Fantasy managers should note that Cleveland plays only three games next week.

Mitchell’s point total was his second-highest of the season, dwarfed only by the 41 points he scored against the Celtics exactly one month ago. Spida led a late Cleveland rally, but his explosive offensive outburst wasn’t enough to get Cleveland it’s 60th win. Mitchell will need to be at his best on Sunday when the Cavs host the Clippers.

It has been a rough few weeks for Mitchell, and there was plenty of concern about both him and the Cavaliers as a team. Despite their incredible season, a four-game losing streak had them looking a little exposed. Since then, they’ve won three games in a row, and Mitchell was back to playing at an elite level in this one. His 14 dimes were a new season-high, eclipsing his 11 assists that he had in a game last week. This was the first night of a back-to-back, so keep an eye on Friday’s injury report to see if Mitchell gets the night off.

Mitchell is back after sitting out Tuesday’s win over the Trail Blazers. Sam Merrill replaced him in the starting lineup, but Spida’s return does not automatically mean he’s headed to the bench. Evan Mobley (rest) is out, so Merrill, along with De’Andre Hunter, Isaac Okoro and Dean Wade, could be among the options to start.