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Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers is making an early case for MVP, and head coach Kenny Atkinson gave a blunt reaction to his play.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are one win away from the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2018. Game 6 is at Rocket Arena against the Detroit Pistons, but a health concern has come up ahead of the potential series clincher.
According to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, both head coach Kenny Atkinson and guard Sam Merrill are dealing with illness heading into tonight’s game.
“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 upper respiratory bug) is also coursing through the team.”
Currently, Cleveland Cavaliers haven’t made any announcement regarding their updated injury reports or health status other than Vardon’s information. No one has been ruled out for Game 6.
During the regular season, Merrill scored an average of 12.8 points per game. Even though he was reportedly ill, he was on the floor for 21 minutes in Game 5 and could only score 6 points, get 1 rebound, and 1 steal.
That kind of drop-off from a key bench shooter is a real concern heading into tonight. Atkinson coached the full game on the sideline without any visible disruption.
GettyCavaliers Concerning Illness Problem Raises Concern Before Game 6 vs. Pistons
It took Cleveland a full seven-game series to finish off the Toronto Raptors in the opening round, and then they had to face a more dangerous opponent in Detroit. The Pistons won the first two games of this second-round series at home, but the Cavaliers have been on a roll, winning three consecutive games to completely change the situation.
The turnaround has been led by their two stars. Harden has put up 30 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists in Game 5 alone, while Mitchell has been the closer when it matters most. Cleveland also pulled off a 117-113 overtime win on the road in Game 5, their first road win of these playoffs.
The Cavs are 6-0 at Rocket Arena this postseason. That home dominance sets up tonight perfectly, with a chance to close the series out in front of their own crowd.
GettyCavaliers Locker Room Illness Problem Raises Concern Before Game 6 vs. Pistons
History is also on Cleveland’s side. The Cavs are 9-1 all-time when winning Game 5 of a 2-2 series, with the only loss coming way back in 2006, against this same Pistons team.
Mitchell spoke about what this moment means after Game 5.
“Of course … you want to win, you want to get to the highest level, and it’s more of an incentive. It’s not a distraction, in a sense; it just makes you hungrier. I think, putting myself aside, I think this is great for the group. This is why we work so hard, why we made the trade for James and Dennis and Keon. So yeah, it’s exciting to get that momentum and get one step closer. But we haven’t done anything yet, so I can’t go there,” Mitchell said, via Jardon.
Detroit is also fighting back. Cade Cunningham scored 39 points in Game 5 and the Pistons have showed throughout the series their ability to compete. If he receives help tonight, this might be a seven-game series.
The crowd, the lead, and the momentum are all with Cleveland. The extent to which Atkinson and Merrill’s illness impacts their performance tonight can only be revealed by Game 6.
Jayesh Pagar Jayesh Pagar is a writer at Heavy Sports, covering the New York Knicks and other NBA teams. He brings four years of experience across digital sports media, including NBA, WNBA, college basketball, and college football. He covered as the Knicks beat writer for ONSI and has written for PFSN, Sporting News, and ClutchPoints. More about Jayesh Pagar
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