The Celtics secured their spot in the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday with a victory over the Cavaliers, who were without injured star Donovan Mitchell.
One notable figure who wasn’t pleased with Mitchell’s decision to sit out was Ric Flair.
Few believed the Cleveland Cavaliers could keep up with the Boston Celtics during their second-round showdown, where the Celtics were overwhelming favorites to advance. The Cavs managed to win Game 2, but the Celtics completed the gentleman’s sweep on Wednesday with a 113-98 victory.
Cleveland received devastating news before the game when they learned Donovan Mitchell would miss his second consecutive game due to a calf strain suffered at the end of Game 3. The team was also without Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert (who had replaced Mitchell in Game 4). Mitchell, who led the team in scoring during the regular season and averaged 29.6 points per game in the playoffs, was a significant loss.
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With their season on the line, it’s clear that Mitchell was in considerable pain, leading to his decision not to play in the elimination game.
However, this decision did not sit well with Ric Flair, a diehard Cavaliers fan since befriending LeBron James during his Cleveland days. After learning Mitchell was inactive, The Nature Boy took to Twitter to criticize the guard for not playing through the pain, referencing his own history of overcoming injuries in professional wrestling.
Flair eventually deleted the tweet, but the internet never forgets.
Hard to really know what kind of pain level Donovan Mitchell is dealing with.
