Cavs in Jeopardy as Evan Mobley & Darius Send Message to Locker Room After Donovan Mitchell Injury Update

The Cleveland Cavaliers just got Thanos-snapped out of Game 4, and now they’re teetering on the edge of postseason extinction. After getting absolutely dusted by the Indiana Pacers, 129-109, in case your heart could handle reading that twice, the vibes couldn’t be worse in Cleveland. And then, as if being down 41 points at halftime wasn’t enough of a cosmic joke, their All-Star lifeline Donovan Mitchell vanished into thin air.

The Cavs are down 3-1. Mitchell’s ankle is cooked. The Pacers are flexing like it’s 2004 and Ron Artest is still in Indy. And now, the Cavaliers’ hopes lie in the long arms of Evan Mobley and the calm resolve of Darius Garland.

Let’s dive into the glorious mess. One minute, Spida was on the floor chucking bricks (3-for-11 shooting, yikes), and the next, poof — gone. No halftime appearance, no towel-wrapped leg, just the basketball version of a magician’s disappearing act. Fans didn’t know whether to check the locker room or call David Blaine.

Turns out, Mitchell was dealing with a left ankle injury — something Cavs fans know all too well. Donovan Mitchell’s 2024 playoff run was cut short by a calf strain during the Celtics series, but this year, he was on a mission—averaging a blistering 41.3 points in nearly 36 minutes per game this series before Game 4’s untimely ankle injury derailing his momentum.

And now, in the biggest game of the season, he’s limping into “questionable for Game 5” territory. Cleveland’s season might be ending not with a bang, but with an ankle tweak.

Apr 20, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) dribbles the ball in the fourth quarter against the Miami Heat at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images

To make matters even murkier, team staff were seen evaluating Mitchell before the second half. Did he tweak it earlier? Was it flaring up? Or was the man just spiritually exhausted from watching Pacers players hit threes like it was a MyCareer rookie mode game? With the house on fire, someone had to grab the hose — enter Evan Mobley. The man who usually lets his game do the talking finally stepped to the mic, and Cavs fans, it was calm, mature, and a little ominous.

“Yeah, we talked to [Donovan] a little bit, but right now we just gotta focus on us and focus on who we have,” Mobley said postgame. “Hopefully, he’s good and we’ll be good for Game Five. But if not, it’s gonna have to be whoever the next man up is.”

Evan Mobley, in his best “Leonardo DiCaprio at the end of Inception” tone, kept it real. The mission? Don’t cry over Spida. Watch film. Get better. Play better. Try not to get outscored by 41 in one half again. Easy stuff, right? Mobley didn’t stop there — he had words of encouragement for Ty Jerome, who’s been catching more slander than a reality TV villain.

After a breakout regular season off the bench for the top-seeded Cavaliers, Ty Jerome has seen his impact nosedive this series—averaging just 8.0 points on a dismal 26.7% shooting, a steep falloff when his team needs bench production the most.

“Just keep your confidence. I mean, he’s been confident all year,” Mobley said. “These few games don’t define him. We’re gonna need him. Keep doing what he does, taking the shots that he does. It helps us a lot.”

Mobley’s not wrong — and right now the Cavs need every warm body not held together by tape and hope.

Darius Garland and Evan Mobley are trying to pick whats left

Enter Darius Garland, anime protagonist energy and all. Garland looked the part on the court in Game 4 — he dropped 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting, hit 8 free throws, and was basically the only Cav who didn’t look like he forgot which team he played for. And after the game, he went full “we still believe” mode.

“We’ve been through adversity plenty of times,” Garland said. “This group has been together for a couple of years now… This franchise done it before. So we’ve seen it done before. Go out there with a chip on our shoulder, and a lot of desperation. And that’s what we have to do.”

Let’s talk about that 129-109 beatdown. The Pacers ran up an 80-39 halftime lead, which tied the largest postseason halftime margin in NBA history. It was so bad that ESPN probably asked if they could cut to an old 30 for 30 instead.

Every single Indiana starter looked like a 2K 99 overall: Pascal Siakam went easy-mode (21 points, 9-of-10 shooting). Myles Turner was draining threes like a big man possessed (4-for-4 from deep!). Even Obi Toppin went nuclear with 20 off the bench.

May 4, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives to the basket between Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith (23) and guard Andrew Nembhard (2) during the second half in game one of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Oh, and Bennedict Mathurin got ejected for punching De’Andre Hunter in the chest. You’d think that would throw Indiana off… nope. They got better. That’s like your microwave exploding and somehow making the food cook faster. Now, the Cavaliers return home for Game 5 on May 13, and it’s do-or-die time. No more excuses. No more mysterious Mitchell disappearances. It’s about pride, survival, and, let’s be real, not becoming a meme again.

The odds? Not great. But as Darius said, “We’ve seen it done before.”

Final Thought: If Evan Mobley’s voice is the Cavs’ heartbeat, and Darius Garland is the fire in their belly, then Game 5 is where they figure out if they’re fighters or toast. Either way, it’s going to be one spicy night in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

So grab your popcorn, Cavs fans. This either ends in heartbreak… or the beginning of a legendary comeback montage. Game 5. Tuesday. Showtime.

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