Surprisingly, the four-seed Indiana Pacers hold a 3-1 series lead over Donovan Mitchell’s top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in their Eastern Conference Semifinals playoff matchup. After dropping the series’ first two games, the Cavs woke up and won Game 3. But then they faltered in Game 4 too.
Now, as they ramp up for Tuesday’s Game 5 matchup, there’s a growing fear that Mitchell won’t be able to suit up for that one.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Mitchell underwent an MRI on Monday, which revealed that the Cavaliers’ star had reaggravated his ankle injury. Barring a significant change in his status over the next 24 hours, Mitchell is tracking to be a true game-time decision for Tuesday’s playoff game.
"Donovan Mitchell had an MRI today and he has been diagnosed with a reaggravation of an ankle injury..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 12, 2025
I'm told that he's gonna be a game-time decision for game five" ~ @ShamsCharania #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/vzgaFl8dja
While the Cavaliers will have home-court advantage, their best bet to win comes with Mitchell on the floor. Otherwise, with just one more win over the Cavaliers, the Pacers could advance to the Eastern Conference Finals in back-to-back years.
The Pacers’ average margin of victory in their three previous wins over the Cavaliers average out to 10 points. Yet, that number was thrown off when the Pacers easily cruised to a 20-point victory in Game 4 when Mitchell played just 20 total minutes.
The other two Cavaliers losses were by nine and one point. In other words, Mitchell’s injury is certainly something to keep an eye on as the tip-off of Game 5 approaches.
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