Cleveland Cavaliers star guard Donovan Mitchell was held out of the team’s 130-116 victory over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night for rest reasons. This has left some wondering if Mitchell will be good to go when the Cavs host the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night.
Donovan Mitchell expected to play against Raptors after missing game for rest
The answer to that question is yes.
Mitchell is indeed expected to be back out on the floor against Toronto. There was no injury designation related to his absence on Wednesday night, and he was not listed on the official injury report for Thursday's game.
It seems like the team simply wanted to give him a night off. Evan Mobley and Darius Garland were also ruled out of the game. Luckily, they didn’t even need their trio of stars to pull out a win over the Heat.
Mitchell has appeared in 10 of Cleveland’s 12 games so far this season, and he’s posted averages of 30.4 points, 4.7 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals per performance. He’s one of just four players in the league averaging over 30 points per game, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo (33.4), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (32.5) and Tyrese Maxey (32.1).
Mitchell has six consecutive All-Star selections to his name, and with those numbers he's well on his way to a seventh.
Thursday night's game will be the second of the season between Cleveland and Toronto. The Raptors bested the Cavs, 112-101, in an NBA Cup game on Oct. 31. Given that outcome, it's safe to say that the Cavs will be seeking some revenge. The two teams will also face off against each other again later this month.