It’s very ironic that we are only three days away from ringing in 2022, yet the sports landscape currently looks a lot like it did two years ago in December of 2019. The NFL has been hit hard with COVID-19 outbreaks, which will likely play into the 2022 NFL Playoff picture. The NHL took an entire week off before Christmas to try and slow the spread of the virus. Just like the other major sports, the COVID outbreak has hit the NBA hard in the last few weeks. Multiple games were postponed because teams did not have enough players to field a team. However, the Cleveland Cavaliers seemed to be immune from bad things for the most part. That was until some key players ended up in the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols.
Just 10 days ago, the Cavs had extended their winning streak to six by beating the then-shorthanded Milwaukee Bucks in blowout fashion 119-90, but earlier that day, Evan Mobley entered the health and safety protocols. That followed up Isaac Okoro entering protocols two days prior.
One day later, on Dec. 19, center Jarrett Allen and four other players entered the protocols as well. The Cavs game versus the Atlanta Hawks on the Sunday before last was postponed. The Cavaliers then went on to play the Boston Celtics with a short-handed team. Their six-game winning streak was snapped. However, they bounced back by throttling the Raptors 144-99 over the weekend. With that being said, the Cavs also got some really good news on Tuesday.
Evan Mobley clears protocols, Garland enters
The frontrunner for NBA Rookie of the Year, Evan Mobley, is eligible to return to play, as early as tonight, per a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium. Unfortunately, Darius Garland, who is playing at an All-Star level, entered the protocols shortly thereafter, per a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Cavaliers rookie Evan Mobley has cleared COVID-19 protocols and is scheduled to rejoin the team as soon as today, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 28, 2021
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland -- one of the season's revelations -- has entered into Covid protocols, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 28, 2021
He joins Jarrett Allen, Cedi Osman, and Lamar Stevens, among others, in the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols. It’s possible that Mobley is able to play on Tuesday night, but I wouldn’t be surprised if head coach J.B. Bickerstaff limits his minutes, as I’m sure he’s not in game shape.
Getting Mobley back on the court is huge for the Cavs at this point in the season. They have played great this season, and a lot of that is because of Mobley’s ability to defend the hoop. On top of that, Mobley will now get more time to expand and work on his shooting. Mobley has been incredible this season, but as with any rookie, there is still room for improvement.
He’s shooting a solid 47 percent from the field this season, and that should only improve over time. If you look at some of the best young bigs in the league, they all shoot over 50 percent from the field. For example, John Collins, while he doesn’t give as much on the defensive end as Mobley, but he shoots 54 percent from the field and nearly 43 percent from three. With that being said, I’m just nitpicking here. Mobley has been phenomenal this season, and all signs point towards him getting much better.
Another young Cavalier player that was lucky enough to clear COVID Protocols is Isaac Okoro, who seemingly did so over the weekend. But, Okoro is questionable tonight, only because his conditioning is in question after recently coming out of seclusion. It’s great to have Okoro back because he’s been playing good basketball of late. He seems to be building confidence in his shooting, and on top of that, he’s become very good running the floor for easy dunks and layups. I think it’s doubtful we see him and Mobley tonight, but one can hope.
New NBA Protocols
It finally seems like the NBA is catching up to the times. Wojnarowski and Baxter Holmes of ESPN reported on Monday that new rules are in place regarding the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols. If a player or coach is asymptomatic, after six days they are able to clear the protocols. While we don’t know much about the wide-spread outbreaks, or maybe we know too much, but either way having guys out for less time seems like a win for the Cavaliers and the NBA as a whole.
One of the biggest days of the year for the NBA is Christmas Day. However, because of the virus, many of the star players could not play including Trae Young and Kevin Durant. The ratings for the games as a whole, was also down from last year. Basically, the new protocols should keep fans at ease.
10 days without a star player is a lot different than a week. Hopefully Darius Garland can clear the new protocols on time, and re-join the team within a week or so.