Cavs: Starting lineup, rotation without Evan Mobley

Cavs: Starting lineup, rotation next two games

Best-guess starters: Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro, Cedi Osman, Dean Wade, Kevin Love

To be honest, figuring out the starters for this back-to-back against a pair of title contenders is a guessing game. How does a team replace four starters and expect to maintain the same offensive and defensive identity? The above is our best shot, but it opens up a number of issues.

Kevin Love is probable for tonight’s game in Brooklyn; don’t even ask what happens if he is a late scratch. He hasn’t started a game this season but almost certainly has to be the starter with Mobley and Jarrett Allen out. The other decision is the second forward; the guess here is that Dean Wade slides to the 4 and J.B. Bickerstaff starts Cedi Osman to get a shooter on the court.

Bench: Ricky Rubio, Dylan Windler, Denzel Valentine, Tacko Fall…Ed Davis?

Behind the patchwork starters is an even more patchwork bench. Ricky Rubio is a lock to play significant minutes and will see a lot of time alongside Darius Garland as those two players will need to bear a heavy shot creation load. Dylan Windler has been solid all year as a backup wing.

Denzel Valentine has seen his number called since the Collin Sexton injury as his wingspan and strength allow the Cavs to deploy him at different spots in the lineup, including minutes at the 4. Then on Monday night with Allen out the Cavs played Tacko Fall a handful of minutes (eight total) but down the stretch placed Dean Wade at the 5. If Bickerstaff doesn’t want to lean on Fall he could dust off Ed Davis, the 15th man on the roster who has been serving as more of a player-coach than a true player this year, playing just seven minutes total all season.

Whoever plays, the Nets will have a significant advantage and are clear favorites despite how tough the Cavs have played all season.