DETROIT — The Cleveland Cavaliers were without stars Donovan Mitchell and James Harden as well as guard Keon Ellis and forward Dean Wade for Friday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons.
Mitchell and Harden each missed their second straight game. Mitchell is considered day-to-day with a right groin strain, but coach Kenny Atkinson said the team is not worried about his injury lingering.
“We don’t love soft tissue injuries, obviously,” Atkinson said before Friday’s game. “The feedback I’m getting is that it’s not a long-term thing.”
Harden has also not played since he fractured his right thumb Tuesday night. He wore a protective brace on his thumb at shootaround Friday morning and attempted to dribble and shoot but was still feeling discomfort.
“I know this morning he was struggling a little, just dribbling,” Atkinson said. “I mean, the thing’s broken. … If you have a hard time dribbling and catching, that’s [tough].”
Harden’s injury derails the momentum the Cavs had been building since the trade deadline. Cleveland has gone 6-1 in seven games with Harden in the lineup, and he is averaging 18.9 points and 8.0 assists on 49% shooting with his new squad.
Part of the reason the Cavs acquired Harden was because of his durability. Sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania this week that Harden plans to play through the injury, but the Cavs want him to get to a point where he can tolerate the pain.
“We’ve got to get the feedback from James,” Atkinson said. “I mean, there’s no tougher guy in the league. No one more available. No one that wants to play more. So we’ll see how it goes.
“He did say it was improved from since he did it. It wasn’t like, ‘Man, it still feels the same.’ It was like, ‘Man, it’s better than it was two days ago.'”
Ellis sat out Friday after he fractured his left index finger in Wednesday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Ellis had played nine games for the Cavs since being acquired from the Sacramento Kings at the deadline, averaging 6.4 points and shooting 51% as one of the team’s key reserves.
Wade, who had moved into the starting lineup in the past few months, is sidelined with a sprained right ankle.
“We got great depth. I don’t think we’re in the position we are in without our depth,” Atkinson said. “Looking at the most injured teams this year, we’re one of the few that’s kind of stayed afloat. That’s a fact.”
