3 things Cleveland Cavaliers fans should be thankful for

The Cleveland Cavaliers started off the season at 9-5, and appeared to have been turning a corner this season, largely behind strong defensive play, ball movement and a balanced offensive attack.

Now, the club has been hit hard by injuries already this season, as Kevin Love and Lauri Markkanen missed a number of weeks because of COVID-19 health and safety protocols, and it was a crushing blow that Collin Sexton is out for the rest of the season. That was due to meniscus surgery.

Along with that, it was rough that Evan Mobley has been out the past week-and-a-half due to an elbow sprain, and Jarrett Allen missed three games because of illness last week. Others have been banged up here and there, too, such as Lamar Stevens (ankle sprain), Cedi Osman (back spasms) and Darius Garland sustained a neck strain in Cleveland’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Monday.

All of that being said, these Cavaliers have been realistically in almost every game, and while they’ve dropped five straight, this club has hung in there admirably, and they can still make a postseason/play-in run. That’s if they stay the course and can find ways to stay afloat amid injury, if that were to pop up more in the season’s second half.

This team’s efforts shouldn’t be discounted, though, especially despite considering injury, and officiating that has been inconsistent in some games.

So, anyway, with Thursday being Thanksgiving, a few things, to me, come to mind involving what fans should be thankful for, in particular.

To that point, we’ll highlight the three that first come to mind to me as a Cavs fan here.

The first has to do with what Cleveland seems to have in their impressive rookie big.

#1: Mobley looking to be a Cavs star in the making

The first thing for Cavaliers fans to be thankful for is how Mobley seems to be a home run draft selection. It wasn’t exactly rocket science for the Cavs to have selected the 7-footer out of USC with Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green going 1-2 before Mobley went #3, but his play so far has made that decision all the more reassuring.

Mobley has had 14.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game thus far in 15 appearances, and leading into him being sidelined, Mobley was showing the full array offensively, as KJG’s Amadou Sow demonstrated.

Plus, Mobley’s passing feel, feathery mid-range and floater touch, and his defensive versatility, awareness, team and shot blocking/altering instincts have been on display already time and time again.

For a 20-year-old, Mobley has been simply outstanding for the Wine and Gold, and although he does need to improve his catch-and-shoot play from three from here, he has shown flashes there, and has already affected games in a plethora of ways.

It is very, very early, and he’ll need to get and eventually remain fully healthy, but based on what we’ve seen, and how he’s fit alongside so many other Cavs, including fellow big Jarrett Allen, Mobley looks to be a star in the making. He looks to be playing beyond his years, and the kid’s only going to get better and better with more experience.

He can’t be back soon enough; on the plus side, he is reportedly making tangible progress.