After missing a week due to a timely trip to Walt Disney World (the Cavaliers weren't the only ones to visit Orlando!) Cavaliers News is back and better than ever. There's a lot of ground to cover so we will leap right into it.
The Cleveland Cavaliers continued their win streak over the past two weeks, starting with a clobbering of the shorthanded Milwaukee Bucks at home on January 17th, then two more dominant road wins over the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic. A game in Milwaukee last week halted the eight-game winning streak, but they opened another one by beating the Bucks on the road on Friday and the LA Clippers at home last night.
Let's look more closely at some of the headlines swirling around the team in the past few days.
Evan Mobley returns
After missing exactly six weeks after knee surgery to remove loose bodies, Evan Mobley returned to the lineup last night. J.B. Bickerstaff elected to put him right into the starting lineup despite a minutes restriction of 20-24 minutes, moving Dean Wade to the bench.
Most players who have knee surgery end up staying out longer than the initial timeline, but Mobley returned at the very front end of the original 6-8 week estimate. He played 21 minutes in his return, largely serving as Jarrett Allen's backup at center, playing nine minutes with Allen and then all 12 minutes that Allen was off the court.
Mobley put up 10 points and nine rebounds in his return, adding a steal that keyed a transition bucket. He also had three turnovers without an assist and was -5 in his 21 minutes, including -4 in the nine minutes he shared the court with Jarrett Allen (but +5 when on the court with Dean Wade).