Cavaliers hit with more injuries ahead of Mavericks visit
The Cavaliers “pushed through'' their game vs Orlando as they were left with several injuries ahead of facing the Mavericks in game two of a back-to-back.
The Cleveland Cavaliers (42-33) went into Monday’s 107-101 win against Orlando Magic with four injured players ruled out, only to continue to see more injuries as they get ready to play the Dallas Mavericks Thursday.
Power forward/center Evan Mobley, who has been replacing center Jarrett Allen for the past 11 games he’s missed due to a fractured finger, is also injured now after suffering a sprained ankle in the second quarter of Cleveland’s game vs Orlando.
Mobley’s injury came the same day the key backup forward Dean Wade underwent a knee surgery that put an early end to his season. Collin Sexton was another player who went through surgery back in November to miss the remainder of the season.
Coach J.B. Bickerstaff had the option of shifting some valuable players around for the starting lineup, like moving forward Lauri Markkanen to the center position, and having other ones play for increased time, like forward Lamar Stevens and center Moses Brown.
However, both Markkanen and Stevens came out of the Orlando game with injuries, even though the Cavaliers “just pushed through it,” as veteran Kevin Love said past the game.
There is a possibility Love is inserted in the starting lineup at power forward.
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Bikerstaff said that “Injuries take their toll on you mentally…They can be a distraction.”
Even though Cleveland is being bombarded with injuries, they are a strong team led by Darius Garland and Caris LaVert, who also saw a season-high performance by Dylan Windler, who grabbed nine rebounds. “We needed every single one of them,” said Love.
Cavaliers to face Mavericks and Luka Doncic
The Cavaliers get ready to face the 47-29 Mavericks and their star point guard Luka Doncic, who posted his second straight triple-double to a 131-111 win over Cleveland back in November.
Dallas’s game vs Cleveland is the first of a four-game road trip for Dallas where the Mavericks will be going after their first 50-win season since 2014.
Both Sterling Brown and Trey Burke were ruled out on Tuesday due to the NBA’s health and safety protocol.