Cleveland Cavaliers Injury Report: All-Star on the Mend Taking His Time With Recovery

Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell has missed some time due to a handful of injuries he's suffered thus far. First, he dealt with a bone bruise in his left knee and then underwent surgery for a nasal fracture. It's been a tough year for Mitchell.

However, the tide could be turning for the five-time All-Star. According to The Athletic and Stadium's Shams Charania, Mitchell is 'prioritizing the playoffs' for his return. The NBA insider elaborated on his situation on FanDuel's Run It Back:

Since the All-Star break, Mitchell has only played in two games. He went right back to the injury list, and the Cavaliers have struggled mightily without their star guard. In the season, Cleveland has gone 10-10 without Mitchell. In this stretch of the season without him, the Cavs are 4-5 and now sit at the number three seed in the Eastern Conference. The Milwaukee Bucks have surpassed them for the East's No. 2 seed, and a big reason is the absence of the 27-year-old.

No Mitchell for the rest of the season could affect where Cleveland finishes by the time the playoffs begin. They are only 1.5 games up on the fourth-seed Orland Magic and 4.5 games out of the sixth-seed Indian Pacers. Something catastrophic would need to happen if the Cavs fall out of the sixth seed(which is unlikely). Mitchell would prevent that; however, the team is more than capable of staying within the top six seeds with 13 games left in the regular season.

The Cleveland star is the catalyst for the team and was a big reason why the Cavs were where they were with him in the lineup. He leads the team in points with 27.4 per game on 46.8% shooting from the field, 5.3 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and a team-leading 1.8 steals per game.

While Mitchell could be back in a couple of weeks, the good news is that he will have plenty of time to rest. He's only played 45 games this season, and the Cavs will need him to do his best in April and so on. This is the first time Cleveland has experienced significant success without LeBron James, and it's in large part because of Mitchell.

The Cavaliers have shown they can be a serious threat in the league. We'll see if they can show it on the biggest stage when it matters most. Mitchell needs to be healthy, though. This team will not stand a chance without him at his best in a playoff series.