Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell is likely to miss Game 5 against the Boston Celtics due to a calf strain injury.
Boston won Game 4 with a score of 109-102, taking a 3-1 lead in the series. Despite Mitchell’s absence, Al Horford mentioned that it doesn’t change their strategy. “We expect them to come out battling, fighting… We have to be able to match that regardless,” he said. “I feel like our group responded pretty well from last game from expecting him not to play. It has to be the same way tonight.”
Cavaliers All-Star Donovan Mitchell is expected to miss tonight’s potential elimination Game 5 vs. Boston, sources tell me and @joevardon. Mitchell is dealing with a calf strain.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania)
Garland’s Perspective and Team Odds
Darius Garland scored 30 points in Game 4 and emphasized the need for aggression at TD Garden. “I think [Boston’s] gonna come out with aggressiveness, trying to close this out. We have to make the first punch,” he said.
NBA betting sites rank the Cavaliers eighth in odds for winning the championship—the lowest among remaining playoff teams.
Close Call Without Mitchell
In Game 4 without Mitchell, Cleveland trailed by only five points at halftime but struggled with free throws; Boston had 24 attempts compared to Cleveland’s seven. Garland expressed frustration: “That’s ridiculous,” he said about the free throw disparity.
Despite losing Game 4, Coach J.B. Bickerstaff praised his team’s effort: “They laid it all out there… They competed at a high level.”
GAME FIVE.
7PM ET
@NBAonTNT
@wtam1100, La Mega Cleveland
@RocketMortgage | #LetEmKnow— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs)
Jarrett Allen missed his seventh consecutive game due to rib injuries sustained earlier in the playoffs.
Sometimes I wonder if these injuries are just bad luck or something deeper.
Cleveland Faces Tough Odds Against Boston
If necessary, Game 6 will take place back at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Friday.
Cleveland has struggled on the road against Boston recently with only two wins in their last twelve games there and just one win in their past eight road contests overall. The Celtics have been strong at home with seventeen wins in their last twenty games.
Kristaps Porzingis also missed his fifth straight game for Boston due to a calf injury.
The Cavs are not doing well this season without Donovan Mitchell—they’re only twelve wins and sixteen losses when he’s not playing 🤕.
According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, Celtics have a strong chance (68.1%) of closing out the series tonight.
