The Replacements: Cavs’ options for starters, rotation with players in COVID protocols

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the midst of an Omicron-induced tidal wave that is trying to threaten their momentum. Winners of six straight games, the 19-12 Cavs are as high as they have been since LeBron James took his talents to Malibu Beach.

The narrative around Cleveland or any team league-wide is being smothered by a worldwide COVID-19 outbreak. The Omicron variant is sweeping through the NBA, with over 100 players being placed in the league’s health and safety protocols in December alone. Per Adam Silver, 90 percent of those cases tested have been from the Omicron variant, and it has burned through a league population that is 97 percent vaccinated.

This isn’t the first time the Cavs have had to deal with the ramifications of COVID-19 this season, as Kevin Love and Lauri Markkanen both missed significant time in the league’s health and safety protocols earlier this year. Yet losing two players was nothing to what the Cavs are dealing with now.

The Cavs are being hit hard with COVID-19 spurred absences. Who will be available to start and play moving forward?

Last week Isaac Okoro entered the protocols, and two days later Evan Mobley joined him. The Cavs kept rolling, including a strong win over a short-handed Milwaukee Bucks team on Saturday. Then the wheels came off, with five players hitting the protocols on Sunday, leading to a last-minute postponement of the Cavs’ Sunday game against the Atlanta Hawks, themselves missing star point guard Trae Young.

Ed Davis was added to the protocols on Tuesday, billowing the list of unavailable players to eight: Okoro, Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Dylan Windler, Lamar Stevens, Davis, Denzel Valentine and RJ Nembhard. Add in Collin Sexton, out for the year with a knee injury, and nine of the Cavs’ 17 players (15-man roster plus two 2-way slots) unavailable, including three starters.

The Cavs are expected to play on Wednesday night against the Boston Celtics, with their eight remaining players bolstered by the hardship signings of Luke Kornet and Justin Anderson. It’s possible they add another player by Wednesday as well. These absences will be short-term, but the Cavs do have to survive until they get their players back.

Of the players we know of, who will step up to start and play minutes on Wednesday and beyond? Let’s predict the starters and then discuss the potential bench options behind them.