The Cleveland Cavaliers are the hottest team in the NBA right now, as they have raced out to a 10-0 start despite dealing with a handful of injuries. After defeating the Golden State Warriors 136-117 on Friday night, the Cavs face the second game of a back-to-back at home against the Brooklyn Nets. This will be the first of three matchups between Cleveland and Brooklyn, as both sides meet again in Brooklyn in late February, with their final meeting coming in March.
This will be the first time Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson will face Brooklyn, a team he previously coached for four seasons. Thankfully, revenge might come easy for Atkinson's sake after the Cavs won the season series with the Nets last year 3-1. However, Brooklyn was able to steal a win in Cleveland late last season, so Atkinson and the Cavs want to avoid letting the Nets catch fire and start a winning streak.
Who is available for the Nets against the Cavs?
Both teams will enter this matchup with tired legs, and it will be the second game in a back-to-back for both sides. However, the Cavs have the fortune of playing both games at home, while the Nets have traveled to Cleveland after a 108-104 overtime road loss against the Boston Celtics.
Against Boston, Brooklyn was without Bojan Bogdanovic (foot), Jaylen Martin (NBA G League assignment), Day'Ron Sharpe (hamstring), Trendon Watford (hamstring), and Dariq Whitehead (NBA G League assignment). Against the Cavs, meanwhile, the Nets will be missing the same players, along with a few other unsurprising additions.
Bogdanovic has yet to play for the Nets this season after undergoing offseason foot surgery, and he has no firm timetable for his return. Sharpe, meanwhile, was ruled out for six weeks by Brooklyn in early September due to his hamstring injury and is only a little over four weeks into his recovery window.
Watford, meanwhile, has also been dealing with a hamstring injury, but he has a much shorter recovery window. However, Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez said Watford would remain sidelined against the Cavs while Brooklyn prepares him for in-game action. Finally, Martin and Whitehead have seldom seen action with the Nets this season, with the duo instead getting valuable in-game opportunities with the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn's NBA G League affiliate.
Point center Ben Simmons is the newest but unsurprising addition to the Net's injury list. Simmons is still recovering from back surgery in May following two injury-riddled seasons. Brooklyn wants to ensure that they don't re-injure Simmons, so whenever the Nets play a back-to-back, Simmons sits out one of the two games. Since Simmons played against Boston, he's unavailable for Brooklyn against Cleveland.
Who is available for the Cavs at home against the Nets?
The Cavs will be without Emoni Bates (knee, NBA G League assignment), J.T. Thor (NBA G League assignment), Luke Travers (NBA G League assignment), and Max Strus (ankle) against Brooklyn. Bates remains sidelined, rehabbing after preseason knee surgery.
Hopefully, Bates will soon be available for the Cleveland Charge, Cleveland's NBA G League affiliate. However, with Thor and Travers set to play in the Charge's season opener against the Indiana Mad Ants, which takes place before the Cavs play the Nets, both players are out for rest.
Cleveland's matchup with Brooklyn will be the 11th straight regular-season game without Strus. The Cavs sharpshooter sprained his right ankle during individual workouts, and after confirming the sprain's severity, it was announced on Oct. 19th that Strus would be reevaluated after six weeks of treatment and rehabilitation.
That timeline suggests he’ll remain sidelined for at least Cleveland's first 20 regular-season contests. Strus had missed some time this preseason but appeared to be on the verge of returning for the opener against the Toronto Raptors.
With Strus still sidelined, Dean Wade and Isaac Okoro have stepped up for the Cavs in his place. Wade started in Strus's place throughout the beginning of the regular season but missed two games due to illness, allowing Okoro to shine. Okoro started at small forward in Cleveland's win over Golden State, hounding Stephen Curry with his defense.
While Strus is out, Atkinson said the team's starting small forward will depend on the competition. Considering how guard-heavy the Nets are, Okoro will likely draw the start again for the Cavs. In his fifth season with Cleveland, Okoro has averaged 6.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 20.3 minutes per game. However, with the Cavs playing on tired legs, don't be surprised if it's a collective effort to take care of the Nets and remain unbeaten this season.
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