The Cleveland Cavaliers are the only undefeated team left in the NBA with a 15-0 record, and many are wondering how long they can keep the streak going. Their next opponent is the Charlotte Hornets, who just came off of a big win against the Milwaukee Bucks. Unfortunately for the Cavs, they won’t have the engine of their ship in this matchup.
Donovan Mitchell has been one of the main keys to the Cavs’ success early in the season, but he’ll be out against the Hornets due to rest. The Cavs still have enough firepower to stay competitive, and it should be a good game regardless.
Cavs are keeping Donovan Mitchell fresh for the season
The plan that the Cavs have this year for Donovan Mitchell is to not have him play so many minutes due to his injury history. This allows young players such as Darius Garland and Evan Mobley to impact the game more, and that’s exactly what they’ve been doing, which has led to the team’s success.
Mitchell recently spoke about the benefit of getting rest during the season with his reduced minutes.
“My body’s excited, I’ll tell you that,” Mitchell said. “I’m not going to be like, ‘Oh, I saw this coming.’ But what makes me excited is the fact that, man, we haven’t even revved up the minutes. At this point last year, the past three years or so, I’ve been playing 35, 36.
“[Fewer minutes] allows you to kind of be freer mentally, physically and have a trust in the guys that like, ‘Look, I’m not playing as much, and we’re still able to push and continue to get better.’”
This plan will work out in the long haul, so when the postseason comes around, Mitchell should be good and might not have as many injuries lingering.
