Donovan Mitchell returns with a black mask; Cavaliers starting lineup finally healthy

CLEVELAND — They're still a little banged up, and one is wearing a face mask while playing for the first time in his life, but they're all back. And now they need to prepare for the playoffs.

Donovan Mitchell returned to the floor Friday night as the Cavaliers beat the Philadelphia 76ers, sporting a black face mask. It was two days after Max Strus returned to the lineup, and less than a week after Evan Mobley rejoined the rotation.

The Cavs spent most of March as a depleted roster gasping for air. No Mitchell, no Strus, no Mobley, even no Dean Wade for a stretch.

Not only were all three starters missing, forcing the Cavs to test their depth much more than they would have liked, it also came in the middle of a stretch in which Cleveland played 20 games in a span of 34 days. It was far from an ideal situation, and as head coach J.B. Bickerstaff noted, it led to a "mental test" for the entire roster.

Mitchell missed 13 games in the month of March dealing with a knee injury and then a broken nose at the hands of Triston Thompson, who accidentally elbowed Mitchell in the face going for a rebound. Strus missed 12 games with a knee injury of his own. Mobley was out with a sprained ankle.

For the first time in roughly a month, the Cavs starting lineup is fully healthy, as they celebrated Mitchell's return. Friday night was just the 23rd time this season that all five starters were healthy, and the first game since Feb. 28. Under one third of the Cavs' games thus far have featured a healthy starting lineup.

Strus is still easing back into things, and Mitchell played Friday night's game with a black facemask, which will be necessary for a while, even though his knee was the primary focus of his recent absence.

Donovan Mitchell wears black facemask in return to Cavs starting lineup

Mask or not, the Cavs missed not only Mitchell's scoring ability, but his way of pulling opposing defenders into his orbit, and out of position. After Friday night, the Cavs are 34-16 with Mitchell but 11-13 without him.

"Just the force and gravity that he carries on the offensive end of the floor," said Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff. "His leadership, the way his teammates believe in him and feel the confidence when he's on the floor, what they're capable of — I think you'll feel that boost right away."

Mitchell played 32 minutes Friday night and finished with just 12 points on 4-for-13 shooting, though he did record eight assists. In terms of how the injured knee responded to the action, well, that's a learning experience, and it'll continue to be one for the next couple weeks.

"I haven't done this before, so it's about figuring it out, you know what I mean?" Mitchell said. "I'm not concerned about it, [it's just] kind of getting a good one underneath my belt."

The mask was also new. And it's taking a bit to get used to it.

"It's trying to be able to breathe," Mitchell said with a smile when asked about wearing it Friday night. "There's really nothing I can do about it. So, let's go out there and figure it out."

Cavaliers get Max Strus, Evan Mobley, Donovan Mitchell back in starting lineup leading into playoffs

After so much time away, the starting lineup will now have nine games (including last Friday nights game against the 76ers), to round into form and be re-integrated into the offense before the playoffs. Mitchell and Mobley will still need to have their workloads closely monitored, and the Cavs will need to see how they respond as that progression continues.

They can ill afford a setback at this point in the season. Then again, they also don't want to be experimenting with workloads during a playoff series, either, when for nearly the last year, the focus has been on winning their first series without LeBron James in three decades.

"It's going to take us some time to ramp up where their minutes increase to a heavier load," Bickerstaff said. "We have to manage how quickly we get there, but we've got to get to a point where we see that they can sustain high minutes for a period of time, see how their body responds the next day and then keep going from there."

And, after so much time away, the Cavs still need to re-discover the kind of rhythm they had when they surged to the No. 2 seed in the East. They'd currently be the No. 3 seed if the playoffs started today.

"We've got time to figure it out," Mitchell said. "Yeah, we've been injured and hurt, but there's no excuses at this point. We've got to go out there and continue to find ways to win these games and be ready at the right time."

There is time. There's also a sense of urgency.

"Every game's a playoff game," Mitchell said when asked how he viewed the Cavs' remaining games. "It's a playoff atmosphere with these [final games]."

It's not just Mitchell, Strus and Mobley the Cavs are trying to get into a rhythm. It's also Darius Garland, who has been healthy, just not his normal, effective self.

Darius Garland in scoring rut as Cavaliers return to health

Even without Mitchell and Strus, Darius Garland (who missed time as well earlier this season, when he had to eat through a straw for weeks) had just one 20-point game in his last seven games. In that stretch, Garland has averaged just 14.4 points on 37.7% shooting from the floor.

"He just needs to play," Bickerstaff said, indicating he wasn't worried about Garland's recent stretch. "Obviously shots will go for him and those types of things, but we're not concerned about that. He plays with the spirit and the joy that he has and typically does, Darius will be just fine."

The Cavs still have plenty to figure out before the playoffs arrive. After a recent loss, Strus had some comments for the team's defensive effort. That led to a conversation after a film session Thursday. Bickerstaff didn't want to call it a full meeting, but the team's defense was discussed.

Marcus Morris Sr., recently signed through the rest of the season and someone who can bring an element of toughness the Cavs need, also spoke.

"We watched film and then just had a conversation post film where we saw those things that Max was talking about where we just did not do the job defensively," Bickerstaff said. "It gives you an opportunity to show the type of person you really are when the chips may be down, and how you overcome adversity. And I'm confident in the guys in that locker room that going through a tough time, this will help us in the long term."

The Cavs have only a few weeks until the playoffs begin. They've weathered a game-heavy, injury-heavy stretch. Now it's full steam ahead into preparing for the end goal.

Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com. Follow him on Threads at @ByRyanLewis.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavaliers Donovan Mitchell black mask returns to starting lineup