Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson didn't get into details about Evan Mobley's ill-timed calf injury before hosting the Charlotte Hornets at Rocket Arena. Instead, he wanted to highlight the challenge this will present to the Cavs to “prepare early” for adversity that they could run into in the playoffs.
“We're going to get some reps at this. I just think that's good,” Atkinson said. “When I go back to Game 2 last year against Indiana, we had three of our best players out. We could be in the first round this year and Don [Mitchell] could have a cold or something, the flu, and he doesn't play Game 1, so what does that look like? We're getting really good reps with managing when you have guys out of the game.”
Early Saturday evening, the Cavs announced that Mobley could miss up to a month of action due to a left calf strain injury that he suffered against the Washington Wizards the night before. After experiencing tightness postgame, Mobley underwent an MRI when the team got back to Cleveland the next day, which revealed a Grade 1 strain.
Despite suffering the setback in D.C., Mobley produced 23 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists in a team-high 36 minutes. It was the same night where Donovan Mitchell went nuclear in a superhero effort with 48 points.
It's unfortunate timing for the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Mobley has been in a real groove following a rocky start to the season, as he's averaged 19.8 points, 9.8 boards, 4.1 assists, and 1.8 blocks over his last month of action, shooting 52.0% from the field and 36.0% from long range on nearly four attempts per game.
“The sky is not falling, crises aren't happening, catastrophes are not happening, just so you guys know,” Atkinson said of the state of the Cavs. “We are going to be alright and I love the reps for our guys, our bench guys.”
The Cavs' timeline for Mobley's return is estimated to be between two and four weeks.
On the bright side, Cleveland is getting big man Jarrett Allen back from his extended absence; he's been dealing with two separate finger injuries on each hand. Sunday will be his first game since Nov. 28 in Atlanta.
“I mean, he's going to have to get into rhythm,” Atkinson said. “Let's not expect perfect. He's been conditioning his tail off. I think that's why he's playing [Sunday]. He's tired of conditioning, which is the way it should be. You're so miserable trying to get back in shape, but it's not going to be perfect. It's obviously good timing with Evan being out. We're going to need T.B. [Thomas Bryant] and then we're going to have to find some small-ball lineups just to buy us some minutes.”
Despite Mobley's absence, the Cavs have a great opportunity to get on track against bottom-of-the-rung squads in the Eastern Conference. They'll take on the Hornets on Sunday and Dec. 22, with a home-and-home against the Chicago Bulls in between.
