Is Donovan Mitchell playing tonight against the Washington Wizards? Latest on the 4x All-Star’s availability

Donovan Mitchell will be available for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday for the rematch against the Washington Wizards. “Spida” labored for his 22 points on 6-16 shooting on Wednesday's 140-101 versus Washington. He will look to put on a much better showing in the second encounter between the two teams.

The four-time All-Star isn’t on the Cavs’ injury report, so he should be set to go. Mitchell didn’t shoot well, but he didn’t attribute it to any injury. The former Utah Jazz superstar had some open looks but just couldn’t consistently make his shots.

Mitchell has missed nine games this season due to injuries. He claims to have gotten past them and is only focused on leading the Cleveland Cavaliers.

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What happened to Donovan Mitchell?

Donovan Mitchell returned from a four-game absence on Dec. 29 against the Milwaukee Bucks. He had previously dealt with a non-COVID-19-related illness. The shooting guard said that he could have played through two of the games, but the Cavaliers wanted to hold him out.

“Spida” was still on the injury report on Jan. 1 versus the Toronto Raptors but was cleared to play a few hours before the game. Unsurprisingly, his rhythm was off, as he finished with 26 points on 8-21 shooting.

Mitchell was finally removed from the injury list in the first meeting against Washington but still didn’t have his shooting touch.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will hope that Donovan Mitchell has dusted off the rust in the rematch with Washington. Mitchell and crew will again play in front of their home fans, so that should give him a boost.

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Donovan Mitchell’s stats vs the Washington Wizards

Mitchell spent the first five years of his career in the NBA with the Utah Jazz. As his team was in the Western Conference, he didn't have plenty of opportunities to face the Washington Wizards.

In 13 games against them, he's averaging 28.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists. Washington knows too well what he can do and will be wary of an explosion from one of the NBA’s elite scorers.

The Wizards threw different looks at him to prevent him from getting into a groove and regain his shooting touch. They will likely try the same approach in hopes of keeping him from dominating the scoring column.