The Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t have the greatest news on Monday night on the health front.
Then, the team announced that Evan Mobley suffered a right ankle sprain, and is expected to be out for one-to-two weeks.
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) October 3, 2022
Per a report from Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, Mobley sustained the injury by stepping on the foot of Robin Lopez while trying to “drive to the basket during a workout on Saturday.”
The Cavaliers release stated how Mobley will “undergo a period of treatment and rehabilitation and his status will be updated as appropriate.”
Fedor did express in his report how currently, it is not believed that Mobley’s status for the season opener at the Toronto Raptors on Oct. 19 is in question, but essentially that we’ll have to see. That’s with the response to treatment in mind, too, for example.
This is not ideal for Mobley and the Cavs starting unit, as it’s a slight blow to chemistry-building chances.
This is hardly good news for Mobley, as it would’ve been meaningful for him to get some good reps in at least the first couple preseason games against the Philadelphia 76ers, seemingly.
He looks to be in line for a big leap on the offensive end this season, and had a very productive offseason where he seemingly honed in on his three-point shooting and improving in his shot creation. I’d fully expect that we’ll see him have a notable step forward this season offensively, too, and this likely isn’t concerning, really.
It’s not as if Mobley, who had 15.0 points and 2.5 assists per outing last season, didn’t display plenty of offensive flashes on-ball, and great feel on that end. The 2022 Rookie of the Year runner-up impacted winning in a plethora of ways, especially defensively, and again this coming season should be able to take it up a notch, after a full offseason of work and for him to get stronger.
It’s just unfortunate leading into the preseason, and the Cavaliers are going to be a new-look unit after the trade acquisition of Donovan Mitchell from the Utah Jazz last month. Maybe Mobley does still get some preseason play in still, anyhow.
As we alluded to, this is frankly a slight blow to chemistry-building opportunities for the Cavaliers’ new-look starting unit with Mitchell slotting in at the 2. It’d have been nice to see the Wine and Gold be able to feature Mobley more as a playmaker in some lineups in preseason, too, given how he showcased encouraging secondary playmaking abilities in 2021-22.
Now, perhaps we do still see Mobley in there in say, one or two preseason games, but it’s tough to say on that front at the moment, and he’ll have to respond well day-to-day in treatment. And the regular season is obviously the priority, and it’s good at least for now that he seems likely to be available for the 2022-23 regular season opener.
In the mean time, others such as Kevin Love, I’d think Dean Wade and Lamar Stevens, to some extent, could have more preseason time in at the 4 spot. KJG’s Justin Brownlow suggested how Isaiah Mobley, who is on a two-way deal, could be another Cavs player to watch in his brother’s absence in preseason as well, for what it’s worth.
The 4 is where Love is typically at, sure, but Wade and Stevens will both feasibly receive some minutes at the 3 and 4 this coming season. Wade and Stevens are reportedly in the mix for the starting 3 spot, albeit with the likes of Isaac Okoro, Caris LeVert, Cedi Osman and Dylan Windler in the running, too.
Hopefully this issue does not linger for Evan Mobley, who seems well-positioned for a sizeable leap forward in his second season. And realistically, I’d imagine he’ll be fine. He missed five games with a left ankle sprain near the closing stretch of last regular season, as an aside, and 13 games overall last year, in which Cleveland went 4-9.
It’s simply not an ideal scenario in the short term.