Donovan Mitchell To Miss Second Straight Game With Cavs

Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell is out sick vs. the New Orleans Pelicans as the team finishes its homestand.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were able to keep their winning streak going last night in a victory over the Utah Jazz thanks to a group effort. They did it without Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, who have been sidelined for an extended period of time. 

The wine-and-gold also didn't have Donovan Mitchell for that game, who was feeling under the weather. Thursday night, on the second night of a back-to-back, Cleveland won't have its star guard again due to that.

Dec 18, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) shoots in the first quarter against the Houston Rockets at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

In Mitchell's place, Craig Porter Jr. will assume the role of starting point guard as he did vs. the Jazz. The red-hot Sam Merrill is sure to get more significant run too as Cleveland continues to find ways to battle injuries and setbacks.

Porter stuffed the stat sheet last night with six points, seven rebounds, six assists and three blocks in 25 minutes of action. Merrill will be coming off a career night where he scored 27 points and knocked down eight threes against his hometown team.

Despite being down bodies, the Cavs have been moving the ball and keeping defenses shifting as a result. There has been an emphasis on an analytical approach between paint pressure and shooting the ball when they're open. It's a strength-in-numbers strategy that has worked since their thus-far homestand started on Saturday.

Clearly as the winter is in full force, sick season has struck the NBA. Even the New Orleans Pelicans have had something going around in their locker room. Three of their key players — Zion Williamson, Herb Jones and Jonas Valanciunas — are listed as questionable with illness as well.