After putting away the pesky Detroit Pistons 128-121, the Cleveland Cavaliers are on the road to face the Memphis Grizzlies in the second game of a back-to-back. Memphis is banged up, bloodied, and bruised heading into this matchup. The Grizzlies will be without Steven Adams (knee), Desmond Bane (ankle), Brandon Clarke (Achilles), Luke Kennard (knee), Jake LaRavia (ankle), Ja Morant (shoulder), Derrick Rose (hamstring), Marcus Smart (finger) and Ziarie Williams (hand).
For those keeping count, that's nine players sidelined for the Grizzlies and the Cavs will instead face a lean and mean Memphis rotation riddled with 10-day signees.
Unfortunately, Cleveland will be without a key player against Memphis, but thankfully, it isn't as grizzly for the Cavs as it is for the Grizzlies.
Evan Mobley, who has played two games since missing nearly two months from knee surgery, will be unavailable for Cleveland against Memphis. Before the Cavs' home win against the Pistons, head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said that the plan was to let Mobley play against the Grizzlies, just as long as Mobley's knee felt safe to play on immediately after going up against Detroit.
With Mobley sidelined, his left knee is still a little tender, and the team will err on the side of caution and hold him out.
Thankfully, Jarrett Allen, who was a game-time decision against Detroit due to a sudden illness, is available and will step up for Cleveland while Mobley is out. It's unclear if Allen is still under the weather but in the last 24 hours, the Cavs have been pumping him with fluids to keep him hydrated and ensure their All-Star big man has enough gas in the tank to finish against the Grizzlies.
Regardless, with Tristan Thompson (suspension) and Isaiah Mobley (G League assignment) unavailable, backup big man Damian Jones or reserve forwards Georges Niang and Dean Wade will soak up whatever minutes are available at center when Allen isn't on the floor.
Thankfully, even without Mobley out there, Cleveland still is letting Darius Garland (jaw) give it a go after the star guard returned against Detroit after missing over a month due to surgery. While Garland's numbers didn't stand out against the Pistons with 19 points and three assists in roughly 20 minutes of action, he did give the Cavs a spark and something the team lacked whenever Donovan Mitchell was on the bench: Offensive continuity.
Garland made passes like he had the ball on a string, connecting with teammates and finding his footing in Cleveland's new offensive flow.
Was it perfect? No, not at all.
There was some clear rust on Garland and some awkwardness at times. But, there was still a spark that could ignite in time once everything begins to click on offense for the Cavs. When it finally happens, Garland will be the firestarter, and Cleveland will be set to run the table in the Eastern Conference.
Tonight's grind with the Grizzlies will be another opportunity for Garland and the Cavs to get closer to that point sooner rather than later.
Emoni Bates (G League assignment) and Ty Jerome (ankle) are the only Cleveland players missing. While the Cavs hosted the Pistons, Bates scored 18 points on 6-15 shooting, grabbed three rebounds, and dished out an assist in a win over the Greensboro Swarm, the NBA G League affiliate of the Charlotte Hornets.
Jerome, meanwhile, recently went under the knife to have surgery on his nagging ankle injury that's kept him out since Cleveland's home-opening loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in October. While the procedure was a success, there's no update on when Jerome will be able to get back onto the floor.
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