Next man up has always been a tried but true cliche, especially if you're the Cleveland Cavaliers. All season long, the Cavs have been dealing with injuries all over their roster, with the latest keeping Darius Garland (jaw) and Evan Mobley (knee) out for over a month. In their duo's absence, Cleveland didn't see its team crumble. Instead, the Cavs saw anyone and every one step up in their stead, carrying the team on either end of the floor most nights and putting them within striking distance of one of the Eastern Conference's best records.
But with Mobley and Garland working their way back to the floor, it seemed like the injury bug had finally decided to leave Cleveland alone. After dealing with so much adversity, the Cavs could stay healthy, and with everyone playing so well, they could start building momentum toward a serious Eastern Conference run. Unfortunately, that was not the case in Cleveland's 108-101 win over the Memphis Grizzlies as fate, once again, decided to be a cruel mistress.
Moments into the start of the second half, Cavs big man Jarrett Allen looked to have suffered a nasty tweak in his ankle and could not return to the court after asking out of the game to be evaluated from the bench. While Jarrett Allen subbing out also snapped his franchise-leading double-double streak, that's meaningless considering how valuable the big man has been for Cleveland's fortunes. Hopefully Allen will be available when the Cavs remember the Alamo on Saturday when facing the San Antonio Spurs. But if Allen is unavailable, Cleveland must embrace their next-man-up mentality, adapt, and try its best to survive.
Thankfully, some glimmers of optimism shone through the cloud Jarrett Allen's injury cast over the Cavs' latest win. Damian Jones, somewhat of an afterthought after Cleveland acquired him from the Utah Jazz over the summer, played well as a traditional big, finishing the game with seven points, six rebounds and three blocks in less than 15 minutes of action. But outside of Jones, the Cavs had no other traditional big men available, forcing head coach J.B. Bickerstaff to get creative and lean on players like Dean Wade, who traditionally isn't a center.
To start the fourth quarter, Bickerstaff leaned on Wade at center to counteract Memphis big man Jaren Jackson Jr., and Wade made the former Defensive Player of the Year's life hell. With the Cavs up four with a minute and a half left, Jackson drove directly at Wade’s chest, and the Cleveland forward held his ground while in a legal guarding position, forcing Jackson to finish through the contact without drawing a foul, and Jackson couldn’t do so. Grizzlies guard GG Jackson tried to tip the missed shot in, but Wade raced back to prevent the easy bucket, helping seal the win for the Cavs.
On offense, meanwhile, Wade's three-point shot pulled Jackson out of the paint, limiting his defensive impact. This resulted in Cleveland attempting 15 threes in the final quarter after struggling to get attempts off before. Again, Wade isn't traditionally someone the Cavs roll with at center, but desperate times call for the next man to stand up, which is something Wade more than did. It unlocked a newer, smaller lineup Cleveland could deploy randomly, keeping opposing teams on their toes.
If Allen misses time for the Cavs, especially while Mobley is on a minute restriction, knowing that Wade and Jones can step up and hold down the fort is reassuring. But, hopefully soon enough, Cleveland no longer has to keep riding things out, waiting for the next man to step up.
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