The Cleveland Cavaliers needed this week to get right.
What the NBA Cup has brought to the schedule is something of a bye week in the middle of the season, an mini "break" at the one-third mark to mirror the All-Star Break at the two-thirds mark. With the schedule spread out for NBA Cup action, teams have had significantly lighter schedules over the past calendar week.
The Cleveland Cavaliers played the Miami Heat last Sunday, December 8th. They proceeded to go four straight nights without a game before hosting the Washington Wizards on Friday, then had another two nights off before they play the Brooklyn Nets tonight. The schedule was so relaxed that they were able to take a few days off in sunny Miami, Florida rather than head back to icy Cleveland in the middle of December.
What the time off has also afforded the Cavaliers is time for its players to get rest and work their way back toward full health. A number of players have hit the injury report in recent days, on top of Max Strus working his way back from a severe ankle injury that has kept him off the court for the entire season thus far.
Where do things stand as the Cavaliers begin to reenter a busy portion of their schedule? Let's check in on each player who has been on the injury report in the past few days and update their status heading into tonight's game in Brooklyn.
Max Strus remains out
Max Strus got in multiple practices in Miami last week and it was expected that he had cleared the final hurdle to play. Shams Charania went so far as to report that Strus was returning to the lineup on Friday against the Wizards. Then Strus was ruled out of the Wizards game, and now he is listed is OUT against the Nets.
Did Strus suffer a setback? Is his ankle not responding how they expected? Or is the normally conservative Cavaliers medical staff continuing to recommend patience to give his ankle another few days to heal and strengthen? Playing a couple of bottom-tier teams in Washington and the innjured Brooklyn Nets helps to pave a path to patience, if this is all it is.
Evan Mobley should be back
While Max Strus is still out, Evan Mobley looks poised to make his return after exiting the game against the Heat with an ankle injury of his own. Even in the aftermath of the game Mobley and the Cavs downplayed the severity, and the light schedule meant the team gave him a full week off and he only missed one game.
The linchpin of the Cavaliers on both offense and defense this year is listed as probable for the game against the Nets tonight, and it's extremely likely he will suit up and rejoin the starting lineup. The Nets are a team with very few answers to stop Mobley, and he should continue his breakout season against an organization now openly trying to lose games.
Emoni Bates is back
Emoni Bates has joined Strus on the shelf since before the start of the season, as Bates underwent offseason meniscus surgery. His recovery has been extremely positive, and the expectation was always that he should be back on the court around the end of the year.
While that may still hold true as a timeline for his Cavaliers season debut, Bates practices with the Cleveland Charge and made his G League debut over the weekend. There are a lot of holes to his game, but Bates is tall, athletic and can get 3-pointers up at a high volume; there is space in the NBA for such a player if he can continue his development. There isn't any room for him in the Cavs' rotation this season, but he will get plenty of opportunity to soar with the Charge and continue developing as a player.
Jaylon Tyson is out
Jaylon Tyson is a player on the fringes of the rotation who figures to see his minutes vanish entirely when Strus returns. To his credit, the rookie forward has made the most of every opportunity with the Cavaliers, and he is balling out in the G League with the Charge as well. Tyson is currently listed as OUT against the Nets with an illness, but he should be back soon.
Craig Porter Jr. is a question
Finally, third-string point guard Craig Porter Jr. is having another reliable season, a player worthy of being the backup point guard for most teams but playing on the loaded Cavaliers means he is outside of the primary rotation. Whether or not he would have seen the court against the Nets, it's likely Porter is handled gently as he recovers from a sprained ankle of his own. He is currently listed as questionable for the game.