The Cleveland Cavaliers finally had their team at full strength on Wednesday night against the Detroit Pistons. However, that was short-lived as they'll be without one of their starters on Thursday against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Evan Mobley has been ruled out against the Grizzlies as he continues to work his way back to full strength after he missed almost two months with a knee injury.
Cavaliers fans shouldn't be too concerned that Mobley isn't playing. Again, he missed a while with the injury and Cleveland is on the tail end of playing a home-away back-to-back. Pushing Mobley too soon could only lead to more issues down the road.
It's disappointing that Mobley will be out, but it makes complete sense.
Evan has been incredible when he's been on the floor this season. He's averaging 15.4 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.5 blocks in his third year. Mobley has also consistently been one of the NBA's top defenders since entering the league.
Mobley has only played two games since returning from his knee injury. In those two matchups, he's only scored 18 total points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and carries a +/- of -4.5. J.B. Bickerstaff said his minutes restriction would hover around 20 minutes while he builds back some of his strength and that's been the case.
It may take a few more games for Mobley to fully get reacclimated to Clveland's offense and have the strength to play in back-to-backs, but the Cavs are going to be a dangerous team when he is.
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