Bickerstaff provides update on Mitchell and Strus’s injuries

Mitchell has resumed on court activity and will be reevaluated Saturday.

The initial press release for Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell’s left knee bone bruise ruled him out for the team’s next three games. The third game is this Friday’s contest against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff wasn’t able to give any firm targets for Mitchell’s return ahead of Friday’s game. However, he did confirm that he will be reevaluated on Saturday.

“He’s doing well,” Bickerstaff said. “He’s progressed. He’s doing stuff on the floor. It just becomes about [how he handles] the next workout and then the next workout and then continuing to ramp up from there.”

Friday will also mark the third straight absence for Max Strus. This comes after not missing any of the previous 60 games.

“It’s more a wear-and-tear thing,” Bickerstaff said. “It’s just a matter of when [the strain] calms down. I can’t tell you the grade of seriousness. Obviously, for Max not to play, he’s in serious pain and discomfort. It’s just a matter of giving it time to rest.”

Bickerstaff confirmed that nothing is damaged in Strus’s knee. Rest is what is needed at this point.

The period after the All-Star break was supposed to be about figuring out this team’s rotations ahead of the playoffs. Now, they’re just hoping they can go into the postseason with their top eight available.

“The most import thing is that guys get healthy,” Bickerstaff said. “We want to go into the playoffs being as healthy as we possibly can. So we won’t rush those guys coming back. You do want to see what you got. Unfortunately for us, we’ve been whole very little this year. But again, we know what the guys are capable of.”