Cleveland Cavaliers DVOA, Stats, & NBA Rankings

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (ankle) missed the last four games of the season due to an ankle injury, but he's trending in the right direction before the NBA Playoffs start. Head coach Kenny Atkinson said before their final game that Mitchell would be "full-on" during practice leading up to Game 1, which is waiting for the play-in games to be scheduled. The 28-year-old was voted to his sixth straight All-Star Game this season and averaged 24.0 points, 5.0 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game. The Cavaliers' big three of Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Evan Mobley will need to be fully healthy to make a playoff run, and it seems that they're moving closer to that.

Cleveland Cavaliers point guardDarius Garland(toe) is probable for Friday's matchup with the New York Knicks. Due to rest purposes, Garland sat out Thursday's game against the Pacers, but he will likely play this evening. The Cavs clinched the first seed in the Eastern Conference, so if Garland is good to go, he could see limited action this evening. The 25-year-old has been a key piece to Cleveland's success, averaging 18.0 points, 6.5 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.0 steals in 31.9 minutes per contest across 74 games this season.

Cleveland Cavaliers forwardDe'Andre Hunter (rest)will sit out Friday against the New York Knicks. Hunter will be out of action to rest after an impressive outing against the Indiana Pacers on Thursday. Despite the Cavs' 114-112 loss, Hunter posted 23 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block across 32 minutes. Isaac Okoro, Javonte Greenand Dean Wade are all in line for extra minutes with Hunter on the shelf against the Knicks.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard/forwardSam Merrill(rest) will be out of action for Friday's matchup with the New York Knicks. Merrill gets the evening off to rest after posting 15 points, three rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block in a losing effort to the Indiana Pacers 114-112 on Thursday. With Merrill sidelined, 24-year-old forward Isaac Okoro will likely see an uptick in minutes on the floor and extra scoring opportunities during tonight's contest.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard/forwardMax Strus (knee) is available for Friday's matchup with the New York Knicks. Strus will be on the floor this evening after missing the first leg of the Cavs' back-to-back set due to a knee issue. During his last outing, the 29-year-old finished with nine points, five assists and four assists across 25 minutes in a 135-113 win over the Bulls on Tuesday. He will likely start tonight with Donovan Mitchell (ankle) still on the shelf.