Cavaliers Dealing With Various Illnesses Ahead of Massive Game 6 vs. Pistons

With a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals on the line Friday night, Cleveland is dealing with a few sick players hoping to play in Game 6.

May 11, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson listens to the national anthem before game four between the Cavaliers and the Detroit Pistons in the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Cavaliers are potentially one game away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals but now face another hurdle in their pursuit.

The last thing Cavaliers fans want to hear is that their players are injured or sick. Fortunately, nobody is injured, but a few have reportedly been battling a stomach bug that’s making its rounds through the team.

It’s been reported by The Athletic’s Joe Vardon that the illness started with head coach Kenny Atkinson as an upper respiratory bug and had made its way to Cavaliers guard Sam Merrill. The two illnesses were different from one another, however.

There is reportedly a STOMACH BUG going around the Cavs locker room, per @joevardon

“The Cavs are dealing with some illnesses. Atkinson said he had a little "bug." Sam Merrill was violently ill on the off day between games 4 and 5, as a stomach bug (different from Atkinson's… pic.twitter.com/BohtJgEopd

— SleeperCavs (@SleeperCleCavs) May 14, 2026

According to Vardon, Merrill was “violently ill” with a stomach bug on their off day between games 4 and 5, in which Merrill did ultimately play in Game 5. Not to mention, he tallied his most minutes of the series in that game with minimal stats of six points, one assist and one steal.

The good news is that the Cavaliers don't have any players listed on the team's injury report, and everyone should be good to go.

While there has been a couple of days in between the original concern surrounding the wave of sickness going through the locker room, the question is if this could impact the Cavaliers in their decisive Game 6.

How Cleveland needs to prepare against Detroit

The hope is that this stomach bug has come and gone since Game 5 on Wednesday night, but that’s wishful thinking. How poetic it is for Cleveland to be on the verge of their first conference finals appearance since the 2018 Lebron-led Cavaliers squad and face an illness outbreak.

The important factor in this is how well Cleveland performed in Game 5 against Detroit on the road, in which they earned their first road victory of the playoffs even with this illness.

James Harden turned back the clock with his 30-point vintage performance, tying the team in minutes played alongside Evan Mobley, who also had a nice performance with 19 points.

Cleveland will have to hope this illness doesn’t spread to some of their star players between Donovan Mitchell or James Harden, as their talents will be heavily relied on to put the Pistons on ice.

Anything the Cavaliers can do to make sure they're ready to go will be needed, which means intense hydration and refueling to avoid any sort of lapse in their play. Luckily, Cleveland has the roster depth to distribute minutes evenly in the event of any player restrictions. 

Harden may have even alluded to the illness immediately following their Game 5 victory in the locker room. He declared to his teammates, “do whatever you have got to do to be prepared for Game 6 and from the beginning of the game, we got to knock their a** out.”