Cleveland Cavaliers lose Evan Mobley and Darius Garland for several weeks
Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Evan Mobley and guard Darius Garland are both on the injured list. Two starters will miss several weeks of action.
The Cavaliers (14-12) are eighth in the Eastern Conference standings. If the season ended today, the Cavaliers would be heading to the playoffs.
Last season, the Cavaliers achieved a record of 51 wins and 31 losses and won the fourth seed in the playoffs, but were eliminated in the first round by the fifth seed New York Knicks.
The Cavaliers enter the season with a projected wins/loss of 50.5. After a slow start, oddsmakers have adjusted the win total to 46.5 o/u.
Mobley Knee Injury: Surgery of Choice
Mobley was sidelined in early December with a left knee injury. His knee soreness did not improve with rest and he continued to feel discomfort. He underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove the loose body from his left knee.
Mobley will miss six to eight weeks and hopes to return before the All-Star break in February.
In 21 games this season, Mobley is averaging 16.0 points and a career-high 10.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. He also shot a career-high 57 percent from the field.
The Cavaliers selected Mobley out of USC with the third overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and are setting him up for a promising rookie season. The Toronto Raptors' Scottie Barnes narrowly beat Mobley in the 2022 NBA Rookie of the Year voting in one of the tightest races of the past decade.
Mobley is the Cavaliers' third leading scorer. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff will rely on forwards Dean Wade and Georges Niang to round out the rotation for Mobley. Niang averaged 7.5 points and 3.8 rebounds off the bench. Wade started in place of Mobley, but he averaged only 4.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
Guard Drama: Garland out, "Spida" trade rumors
Garland suffered a facial injury in Thursday night's loss to the Boston Celtics. X-rays revealed a broken jaw. He will be evaluated in four weeks and could be out until February.
Garland served as a shooting guard for the Cavaliers this season, starting 22 games. Averaging 20.7 points and 5.9 assists per game, he is the team's second-best scorer.
The Cavaliers selected Garland out of Vanderbilt with the fifth overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. He averaged 21.6 points per game for the Cavaliers over the past two seasons.
The Cavaliers will rely on Max Strus (13.6 points per game), Caris LeVert (15.2 points per game) and Sam Merrill (3.7 points per game) to replace Garland at shooting guard .
Meanwhile, point guard Donovan "Spida" Mitchell is unhappy in Cleveland and could be traded for the second time since last summer. The Utah Jazz traded Mitchell to the Cavaliers before last season when they outbid the New York Knicks.
Next month's season without Garland and Mobley could determine Mitchell's future in Cleveland. If the Cavaliers fall out of playoff contention, they could sign Mitchell at the February trade deadline.
The Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and Miami Heat have all been linked to Mitchell in various trade rumors.
Cavaliers enter the futures market
The Cavaliers are third in the Central Division behind the Milwaukee Bucks (19-7) and the rising Indiana Pacers (13-11), who recently played in Las Vegas. Lost in the NBA Cup Finals. The Bucks are the favorite to win a sixth consecutive division title at -750 odds. The Cavaliers are in second place with odds of +700, followed by the Pacers (+1000).
The Chicago Bulls (10-17) are on the verge of disposing of their team on the trade market and are a distant second in the division at +30,000 odds. The Detroit Pistons (2-24) are in the midst of a losing streak and have lost a franchise-record 23 games in a row. The Pistons are the worst team in the NBA this season, and at +100,000, their chances of winning the division are astronomical.
The Cavaliers haven't won the Central Division title since 2018, when LeBron James signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The injuries of Mobley and Garland directly affected the NBA futures market. The Cavaliers' odds to win the 2023-24 NBA Championship increased from +3500 to +4500 on Monday morning. They are also the fifth team on the DraftKings Future Board to win the Eastern Conference at +1,600 odds. The Cavaliers host the Houston Rockets (13-10) on Monday night in Cleveland. The Rockets are the second-best team in the NBA this season, with a point difference record of 15 wins, 6 draws and 2 losses. The Cavaliers are 11-13-2 ATS.
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