After an impressive 118-108 statement win over the Los Angeles Clippers, things look bright for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Outside of the win over the Clippers, arguably one of the best teams in the NBA, the Cavs are entering a softer portion of their schedule, starting with hosting the Detroit Pistons. More importantly, as Cleveland enters this brief respite during an 82-game grind, they'll likely have a clean bill of health against Detroit.
Cavs injury report
Heading into this tilt with the Pistons, the Cavs will be without Emoni Bates (NBA G League assignment), Ty Jerome (ankle surgery), Isaiah Mobley (NBA G League assignment) and Tristan Thompson. For Thompson, this will be the third game in a 25-game suspension after the veteran big man tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. But, with Evan Mobley back alongside Jarrett Allen, there's not much concern about whether Thompson is available for Cleveland as the season advances.
Jerome's return to on-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.
Darius Garland's return to Cavs
Technically, Jerome is the only player holding back Cleveland from having a fully healthy roster. It doesn't change the fact that Darius Garland, after missing over a month due to a fractured jaw, is a game-time decision against Detroit. While it isn't clear whether Garland, like Mobley, will have a minute restriction for the Cavs in his highly-anticipated return to the floor, sources confirm the report that it's expected for Garland to play.
So, for the first time in nearly two months, Cleveland's rotation is finally whole again. And considering they're the hottest team in basketball, JB Bickerstaff's men are primed to run the table in the Eastern Conference.
The last time the Cavs had a starting lineup featuring Garland, Mobley, Allen, Max Strus and Donovan Mitchell was in early December in a 121-111 win over the Orlando Magic. Cleveland has gone 17-8 since not having their complete starting lineup and, in that 25-game stretch, have dug deep and had multiple role-players step up and stand out in every win for the Cavs.
While some of those role players will see their minutes reduced now that Garland is back, it doesn't mean that everything has to change. Instead, here's a look at what Cleveland's rotation will look like against Detroit and whenever the core rotation is healthy from now on:
PG: Darius Garland, Caris LeVert, Craig Porter Jr.*
SG: Donovan Mitchell, Isaac Okoro, Sam Merrill*
SF: Max Strus, Dean Wade
PF: Evan Mobley, Georges Niang
C: Jarrett Allen
* Fringe rotation players
Most nights, head coach J.B. Bickerstaff will go eight to nine players deep into his bench, mixing and matching his multi-faceted players in different spots all throughout the lineup. There will be bumps sometimes, especially when trying to shake the rust off Garland and Mobley and get them acclimated on the court. But, for guys like Mitchell, LeVert, Allen and Okoro, getting two of their most important players back is a breath of fresh air. It lessens the burden on them to do everything on the floor every night and, when Garland and Mobley are fully in the mix, primes everyone to make a serious run at one of the best records in the Eastern Conference.
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