Early into the NBA season the prevailing theme for the Cleveland Cavaliers has been constant injuries. It started with Jarrett Allen being ruled out for the entire preseason with a bone bruise in his left ankle. Allen has missed every regular season matchup for Cleveland up to this point as well.
Darius Garland, after tweaking his left hamstring in a preseason game against the Orlando Magic, has only played in the Cavs' season-opening win over the Brooklyn Nets. Ty Jerome rolled his ankle against the Oklahoma City Thunder and has been sidelined since. Finally, Donovan Mitchell has been dealing with a sore hamstring after having both constantly cramp on him in the final frames of Cleveland's loss to Oklahoma City.
Again, injuries have been the prevailing theme for the Cavs. Not only that, but injuries have been the prevailing theme to Cleveland's core star players. It's been nearly impossible for the Cavs to implement their new offensive identity when a different star is dealing with a different ailment. It's resulted in some ugly basketball for Cleveland and has them sitting with a losing record three games into the 2023-24 season.
Injuries derailing early season
At the moment, a two-game losing streak can be frustrating due to things the Cavaliers cannot control. Doubly so with the New York Knicks, the team that ended Cleveland's season last year, looming, there's sometimes a heightened sense of urgency for the Cavs to get healthy as quickly as possible. J.B. Bickerstaff said that for players to return to the court, they have to be able to go through a full practice, a series of benchmarks along with evaluation from Cleveland's medical staff. So, when Bickerstaff shared that Garland could not practice before the tilt with the Knicks while Allen and Mitchell could, there was hope that the Cavs would get some much-needed star power added back to their rotation.
Unfortunately, Garland, Allen and Jerome have been ruled out by Cleveland when they host the Knicks while Mitchell remains a game-time decision. When the news broke, that creeping sense of urgency and dread came crashing in soon after. Unfortunately for the fans, the Cavs will always prioritize player health and safety over the fourth contest of an 82-game regular season.
More so, having all the star talent available might not be enough to secure a win over New York. Sure, clearing the first hurdle by practicing with the team is key for Cleveland. But, even when Allen, Garland and Mitchell return to the floor regularly, there will likely be minute restrictions and monitoring to ensure they don't reaggravate any injury.
“I think we'll always look at that as guys coming back as more of a ramp-up,” said Bickerstaff. “We'll see how those guys feel tomorrow.”
If Mitchell can give it a go, the combination of him and Evan Mobley, along with all of Cleveland's new roleplayers, could have a puncher's chance against the Knicks. Sure, New York still has Mitchell Robinson and Josh Hart, who were constant thorns in the Cavs' sides during the playoffs. But Tristan Thompson did tell ClutchPoints that New York's ability to attack the offensive glass is a point of emphasis for the Cavaliers to contain. Things could be scary for either team when the game begins which is somewhat fitting that it's happening on Halloween night.
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