Amid the best regular-season start Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers have seen in years, Isaac Okoro suffered a shoulder injury in the second half of the Cavs’ 130-101 win against the Brooklyn Nets. Many players are battling injuries, such as Max Strus, who missed the Cavs’ victory against the Nets due to a right ankle sprain, and center Evan Mobley, who’s dealing with a sprained left ankle. Mitchell addressed Cleveland, losing Okoro.
Donovan discussed what it means for the Cavs for him and his teammates to step up in Issac’s absence, per SB Nation’s Jesse Cinquini.
“With Isaac being out, we have to continue to take our physicality to another level,” Mitchell said. “And then you’re also missing the second-best 3-point shooter in the league. I say that, like, jokingly, but not jokingly. I’m also dead serious. He’s a guy that [has been] knocking down shots, and teams want to leave him. You obviously miss him on the defensive end, but offensively, he’s been playing phenomenally for us.”
With Okoro shooting at a 49.2% clip on 2.7 attempts from deep, Mitchell isn’t exaggerating about Isaac’s two-way impact in 2024-25. Okoro also averages 0.7 steals per game and has started in 16 games while averaging 21.0 minutes this season.
Isaac Okoro underwent an MRI following his shoulder injury, which revealed to be a right shoulder AC joint sprain. Okoro will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
Donovan Mitchell shuts up ‘group chat, teammates’ with dunk
Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Cavs superstar Donovan Mitchell’s dunk against the Nets quieted rumors that he was done dunking the basketball. The 2018 Dunk champion felt compelled to prove his teammates wrong, per Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor.
“Rumors around the locker room are that I don’t dunk no more and I don’t got it,” said Mitchell. “I was just so happy to get that opportunity and be able to bless my teammates with something I’ve been doing my whole career. I was very proud of that moment. I was very happy. I was very excited. I will probably post it on IG (Instagram) later.”
“For me, it’s more of a choice,” Mitchell explained. “Why exert that energy if I don’t have to? Tonight, it was really a statement. My friends in my group chat, you all know who you are, they were clowning me and talking about my attempts this year. I figured, why not tonight? Why not at home?”
The 23-4 Cavs will host the NBA Cup champion Bucks on Friday.
