The Cleveland Cavaliers just won one of their biggest games of the season. Despite not having Donovan Mitchell on the court, they weathered the storm and took down the East-leading Detroit Pistons with a 113-109 home win.
James Harden and Jaylon Tyson poured in bucket after bucket to fill in for the absence of the Cavs' leading scorer. This win should be a building block and a huge motivation boost ahead of a potential postseason series.
However, even though the game had a playoff-like atmosphere, it was just another regular-season contest, at least to Kenny Atkinson. That's why he didn't want to push Mitchell and rush him back to the court, even though he could've probably suited up. In his pre-game media availability, Atkinson shed light on Mitchell's groin injury.
Donovan Mitchell's groin injury isn't that serious, says Kenny Atkinson
“It's obvious we know our schedule. You know our schedule, right? I know you guys don't like this, but playoff game, he plays today," Atkinson said (h/t Akron Beacon Journal). "...And we got to this decision. I think it's a smart decision. Don't want this thing nagging going into crunch time here.”
Mitchell has now missed four games with the injury. Soft-tissue ailments tend to linger, so the Cavs are probably doing the right thing by erring on the side of caution with their franchise player.
The Cavaliers will have one of the easiest remaining schedules in the Eastern Conference. As such, they can afford to have Mitchell sit for as long as he needs to get back to full strength without it hurting their playoff seeding that much.
Harden chose to play through a fractured thumb instead of going under the knife, proving his commitment to his new team, his love for the game of basketball, and his trustworthiness if Mitchell is in street clothes.
The Cavs are now 34-29 for the season. They're sitting in fourth spot in the East, 7.5 games behind the Pistons and three games behind the second-seeded Boston Celtics. Nothing is settled, and making a run at the top seed is still a realistic possibility.
That said, the Cavs have split their last two meetings with the Pistons. Even though they can't overlook the best team in the East, they should feel quite confident about their chances against them in a seven-game series.