Cavs: 2 studs and 2 duds in tough loss to Celtics on Monday

Cavs duds

This category is tough to pick out a dud because this Cavalier team tries as a team so hard most nights and even though it was a loss and there were players that didn’t have their best games, the team almost pulled off the win.

Star big man, Evan Mobley, was really struggling on the night. He only had one point all night. He was 0-for-11 from the field. The good thing for Mobley is that he wasn’t shying away from taking the shots. The ball just wasn’t going through the hoop for him on the night. He still added nine boards, five assists and two blocks, so he understands the importance of doing all the other little things even when his shot isn’t falling.

As a last side note, Mobley was reportedly “tangled up,” seemingly regarding his elbow, and barely played in the fourth quarter, so we’ll have to see as far as updates. Hopefully he’s fine, but as of Monday postgame, Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff did not initially converse with the trainers yet; a further update came though, in what was deemed as a right elbow sprain, per Evan Dammarell of Fear The Sword and the “Locked On Cavs” podcast.

Per a report from Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, Mobley will seemingly have an MRI on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Cavs forward Dean Wade, who’s been subbing for Lauri Markkanen, as he’s been absent due to COVID-19 protocols, got the start again. Despite playing 35 minutes he didn’t score.

Again Wade does a lot of little things that make him a great defender but in this game, where all the big men were out of the game, the team really needed points from the former Kansas State star. He did add eight boards on the night, however, late in the game, Wade had two open looks at three-pointers to tie the game and missed both.

Now the Cavs will head to Brooklyn to play the Nets on Wednesday evening. Being 9-6 after 15 games is really a great start to a season that the Cavaliers weren’t expected to be that good.

With much more attention being thrown their way over the last few weeks it will be interesting to see how the team responds. It would help to get some of their injured players back as well.