Cavaliers Star’s Playing Status vs. Pistons Revealed

After getting the last two days off, the Detroit Pistons are set to return to the court on Friday night to host the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The visitors will be down a key player, as Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell was downgraded on the team’s injury report leading up to the game.

According to the Cavaliers’ injury report, Mitchell is dealing with left knee soreness.

Recently, the Cavs have had Mitchell on the floor in full force. However, he recently missed two games, including the home matchup against the Orlando Magic on February 22, and the road matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers on February 23.

After missing the back-to-back set, which concluded in Philly, Mitchell returned to the court on February 25 to face the Washington Wizards. Amidst the Cavaliers’ nine-point win over Washington, Mitchell scored 16 points in 36 minutes.

In the following outing against the Dallas Mavericks, Mitchell checked in for 38 minutes and scored 31 points in the tight win. Then, when Cleveland paid a visit to the Chicago Bulls the following night, Mitchell had a 44-minute shift in the Cavs’ overtime loss on the road.

Considering where each team is at heading into Friday’s game, the Cavaliers might've wanted to play it safe and give Mitchell the night off.

However, with the Pistons taking the last two Eastern Conference playoff contenders they faced down to the wire, and defeating the Bulls, who recently took down Mitchell and the Cavaliers, Cleveland can’t be so sure they’ll collect win No. 39 on Friday night.

The Cavaliers and the Pistons are set to tip off at 7 PM ET.