The Cleveland Cavaliers are one of the hottest teams in the NBA right now, riding a six-game win streak. That streak is still alive as the team prepares to play the Boston Celtics Wednesday evening. However, the team has also been hit by the COVID-19 virus hard.
After guard/wing Isaac Okoro went into COVID-19 health and safety protocols last week, Cavs big man Evan Mobley got added to the list a day later. Then after the team defeated the Milwaukee Bucks this past Saturday, the team got word that several other players, including starter Jarrett Allen and bench player Lamar Stevens, tested positive. The game that the Cavs were scheduled to play against the Atlanta Hawks then was postponed on Sunday following that news. On Tuesday it was announced Ed Davis, the Cavaliers backup center, was also added to the list.
Cleveland now has their game scheduled with the Celtics Wednesday. Will they play?
Because of this situation the team signed forward Justin Anderson and center Luke Kornet via the NBA’s hardship exception. Anderson had been playing in the NBA G League with the Indiana Pacers affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
He’s started some NBA games in his career since 2015 but not many, only 24 games. Kornet was also in the G League playing up in Maine with the Boston Celtics minor league squad, the Maine Celtics. He’s started 35 games in his NBA career.
Earlier this season both Kevin Love and Lauri Markkanen were sidelined because of COVID protocols/the virus. At this point, this is reportedly what the rotation could look like for Cleveland at Boston on Wednesday, per Evan Dammarell of Fear The Sword and Right Down Euclid.
I can confirm that Tacko Fall is with the Cavs for tomorrow’s game against the Celtics. https://t.co/sBQJCpSLAu
— Evan Dammarell (@AmNotEvan) December 22, 2021
With all the chaos of the last week, the Cavs still played great, and many players stepped up to help the team extend their win streak, though. Let’s look back briefly at last week’s performances and give the players a grade.