Cavs: Starting lineup, rotation without Evan Mobley

For most competitive NBA teams, rookies play a minor supportive role at best, and most often are a negative presence towards winning games. It’s still worth it long-term to find them minutes and build chemistry with the team’s other players, but the loss of a rookie from a rotation generally makes it better. That will absolutely not be the case for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Evan Mobley was arguably the best player on the team through a month of the season, a fact made even more impressive given the team’s 9-6 start. He was everywhere on defensive, the linchpin in a much-improved unit. Offensively he was really coming into his own, getting comfortable as a scorer and passer.

Not that is gone, as a freak injury to Mobley’s elbow will see him miss significant time. Given that the rest of the roster is feeling the weight of numerous injuries and health-related absences, the Mobley blow might be enough to distinguish the excitement and confidence of a strong start.

Evan Mobley will miss 2-4 weeks with an elbow injury, the latest Cavs player to go down. What could the starting lineup, rotation look like without him?

The Cavs have to answer two questions in light of the Mobley injury. First, how do they survive the next two games? They will face the Brooklyn Nets and the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday and Thursday in a tough back-to-back. The Cavs will be down Mobley, Collin Sexton, Jarrett Allen (non-COVID illness) and Lauri Markkanen (health and safety protocols), four of their original starters. What sort of a rotation can they cobble together?

Then the more important question becomes what this rotation looks like for the next month without Mobley and Sexton, assuming all three players out for illness reasons return fully healthy. Do the Cavs stick to their ultra-big lineups or downsize? Let’s hit each question in turn.