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).
Clippers win
The LA Clippers came into Cleveland the hottest team in the league, the only team with a better record in January than the Cavaliers and coming off of an absolute beatdown of the Celtics in Boston. The Cavs were unfazed, winning all four quarters en route to a 10-point victory.
It wasn't a runaway win, as the Clippers closed to within four points with just over a minute to go. Then the defense clamped down, and the Clippers wouldn't score again as the Cavaliers went on a 6-0 run to close it out.
Donovan Mitchell led the way for the Cavaliers with 28 points and 12 assists, while Jarrett Allen continued his dominant stretch with 20 points, 17 rebounds and three assists. Dean Wade came off the bench but was a team-best +20 on the night, while Isaac Okoro was the player of the night with 17 points (including three triples) and playing lockdown defense on James Harden and Paul George, who combined to shoot just 6-of-19 from the field and 2-of-10 from deep. Kawhi Leonard led the way for the Clippers with 30 points.
Cavaliers on fire
The win over the Clippers elevates the Cavaliers to 28-16 on the season, a half-game back of Philadelphia for the No. 3 seed. ESPN's Basketball Projection Index (BPI) has them finishing with 55 wins, three wins clear of Milwaukee and Philly for the No. 2 seed. They are 15-4 in the last six weeks and have won 10 of 11.
What's more, they aren't merely racking up wins against cupcakes. In that span they have notched wins on the road against the Orlando Magic, Dallas Mavericks and Milwaukee Bucks, and home wins against the Bucks and Clippers.
Isaac Okoro's future
Isaac Okoro and the Cleveland Cavaliers were not able to come to an agreement on a contract extension before the season, hardly a surprise given that Okoro was the most obvious weak spot in their starting lineup in a playoff embarrassment. He was replaced in the starting lineup by Max Strus heading into the season.
The injury to Darius Garland, however, elevated Okoro back into the starting lineup and he has played some of the best basketball of his career. He is hitting a career-best 37.5 percent from 3-point range, dishing two assists per game and playing his usual lockdown defense. Donovan Mitchell made a case for Okoro to make All-Defense this year.
Do the Cavaliers keep Okoro this summer, signing him to a new deal as their guard defender off the bench? Or do they trade him at the deadline to a team that is more willing to pay him this summer? It's an interesting question. If they do look to trade him, we built a couple of trade ideas to consider the possibility.
Perfect Trade Deadline Plan
The perfect NBA Trade Deadline plan is likely one that brings in Mikal Bridges for Caris LeVert and an autographed pair of LeBron 8's. Or one that turns Darius Garland into Stephen Curry and Moses Moody. But those deals aren't realistic, so let's take a moment to come down from the ceiling.
What's the entirely-reallistic plan the Cavaliers could follow to have the perfect trade deadline? Not one that totally changes the team over, but one that best uses their resources and sets them up for the best run this postseason? We built out the comprehensive five-step plan for you here, including some guidelines on which role player they absolutely must keep.
What to Read
Interested in the possibility of an Evan Mobley trade? Josh Cornelissen lays out the reasoning for a deal, then walks through some trade ideas. Check out the coverage of the very hypothetical and unlikely possibility:
- Why the Cavs should consider an Evan Mobley trade
- 3 Evan Mobley trade for Cavaliers to do the unthinkable
- Deep dive on a trade to send Evan Mobley to the Kings
What's Next
The Cleveland Cavaliers have won 10 of their last 11 games, and they are in good shape to win a few more in the next week. Wednesday they host the Detroit Pistons with Darius Garland likely returning from injury, then hit the road to play in Memphis against the injury-riddled Grizzlies and San Antonio to play the outmatched Spurs.