Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell is currently sidelined with a right groin strain, while James Harden is dealing with a fractured right thumb.
Head coach Kenny Atkinson said the team is being cautious with Mitchell’s injury but does not expect it to become a long-term concern, according to ESPN’s Jamal Collier.
“We don’t love soft tissue injuries, obviously,” he said of Mitchell’s injury. “The feedback I’m getting is that it’s not a long-term thing.”
Harden tested his injured thumb during Friday morning’s shootaround, wearing a protective brace while attempting to dribble and shoot, but he continued to experience discomfort.
Atkinson acknowledged the difficulty of playing through the injury.
“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].”
Meanwhile, Keon Ellis, who also missed Friday’s game, was diagnosed with a non-displaced volar plate avulsion in his left index finger, the team announced on Twitter.
Ellis sustained the injury during Wednesday’s game against Milwaukee but still logged 29 minutes and scored 14 points before realizing the severity of the issue.
“I had no clue it was fractured or broken, but I couldn’t really do nothing,” Ellis told Fedor.
“They told me after watching film they think it happened when I dove on the floor and came up with a loose ball because that’s when I kind of started shaking my hand. I thought it was just jammed. But then I couldn’t squeeze the ball at all and thought I might need to come out of the game.”
Donovan Mitchell isn't expected to miss much time with a groin strain, plus more on the Cavaliers: https://t.co/oqgFW2CCoK
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) March 1, 2026
