CLEVELAND – Cavalier’s fog forward Evan Mobley will miss Wednesday night’s game against Dallas – and perhaps even more – as a team injured in the left ankle is battling for a playoff spot.
Mobley was injured in the first half of Monday’s win over Orlando. The 7-footer shot went up to the competition and then the magic forward came down spinning the ankle at the feet of Franz Wagner.
Mobily limped into the locker room and never returned. Once they recovered from another injury, the Cavaliers won 107-101. This was their 42nd season of the season, 20 years earlier, and they have won Cleveland’s first winning season since 1998 without LeBron James on the roster.
The team has not provided an update on the 20-year-old Mobili but has listed him in its injury report, which has been filled with the names of Cavaliers players for months.
Mobley, the No. 3 overall pick in the draft, has an average of 14.9 points and 8.3 rebounds in 67 starts and is a contender for the Rookie of the Year award.
All-star center Jarrett Allen will also miss the matchup with the Mavericks. He has been out with a broken finger since March 6 and does not know when he will return with the Cavs, who finished seventh in the Eastern Conference with seven games remaining.
The top six teams are guaranteed playoff spots, while the top 7 teams will meet in the play-offs.
The Cavs have lost leading scorer Colin Sexton, veteran guard Ricky Rubio and forward Dean Wade to knee injuries. Allen has been out for the last 11 games and guard Rajon Rondo has been ruled out of the last eight due to a sprained ankle.
The team has a long way to go without Caris Lewert and forward Laurie Marknen, forcing coach JB Bickerstaff to be creative with lineup, rotation and tactics.
After the Orlando win, forward Kevin Love said, “I don’t know if there’s another team in what we’ve been through – Caris is out and Laurie is out and DG is out, whoever he is.” Played but we are the kind of team that is the strength of our team.
“We’re much better off when we’re done.”
With Monday’s win, the Cavaliers snapped a three-game skid and won their first winning season in four years.