After seeing their eight-game winning streak end at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks, the Cleveland Cavaliers have a chance to strike back. But, in this rematch with Milwaukee, Cleveland still won't be at full strength. Against the Bucks, the Cavs will be without Emoni Bates (G League assignment), Darius Garland (jaw), Evan Mobley (knee), Ty Jerome (ankle), and Tristan Thompson (suspension).
For Thompson, this is the second game of his 25-game suspension after violating the terms of the NBA and NBPA Anti-Drug Program by testing positive for ibutamoren and SARM LGD-4033, two performance-enhancing drugs. With Mobley's return still likely a week or more away, the Cavs will presumably continue to turn to Damian Jones to fill minutes at center whenever Jarrett Allen is off the floor. Thompson is first eligible to return from suspension on March 16 versus the Houston Rockets.
Bates has been with the Cleveland Charge, the NBA G League affiliate of the Cavs while serving a suspension after entering the stands to confront fans following the Charge's 126-105 loss to the Birmingham Squadron, the G League affiliate of the New Orleans Pelicans. Now that the suspension has passed, Bates will continue developing in the Charge's upcoming back-to-back against the Maine Celtics, the NBA G League affiliate of the Boston Celtics.
Darius Garland, Evan Mobley hope to return to Cavs lineup soon
In a more positive light, while Garland and Mobley have been out since mid-December of 2023, there is hope that both could be back on the floor for Cleveland in the coming days. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff recently shared with ClutchPoints that Garland wasn't traveling with the team on this ten-day, four-game road trip to allow Garland to continue working with the team's training staff to ramp up his production and allow him to get back on the floor.
Meanwhile, sources can confirm the reports that Mobley is getting closer to returning to action and his recovery has been going well. Before Friday's game against the Bucks, the same sources shared that Mobley could handle some contact portions, allowing Cleveland's big man and medical staff to know how his knee is holding up after surgery. There will still be other benchmarks for Mobley to clear to allow Bickerstaff and the team's medical staff to give Mobley the green light to play.
Mobley looks to be ahead of schedule
But, considering how tricky knee injuries can be for players of Mobley's size, it's encouraging that his recovery seems ahead of schedule. Depending on whether or not the team practices this once they return to Cleveland, there could be another chance for the Cavs to check in on how Mobley's recovery is progressing before they host the Los Angeles Clippers. At this rate, Mobley could return before Garland, but the Cavs will never set a finite date for when their players return from injury since player safety is the number one priority. Either way, signs are finally trending toward Cleveland to play as a complete unit.
While Garland and Mobley are still working their way back to the court, Jerome will be now sidelined indefinitely after not playing since Cleveland's home-opening loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Between their two-game stint in Milwaukee against the Bucks, the Cavs announced that Jerome, his medical team and the team's medical team elected that the best course of action was for the sweet-shooting combo guard to have surgery on his nagging ankle.
Jerome's return to the court action wasn’t supposed to take this long. But each time he attempted to ramp up his recovery and increase physical activity, his ankle didn’t respond and Jerome suffered setback after setback. Frustrated by the slow recovery process throughout, the Cavs and Jerome attempted a few different treatment plans, including an immobilizing cast in late November, before opting for surgery earlier this week. There’s no word on when he will resume basketball activities; Jerome will remain out indefinitely for now.
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