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The Cleveland Cavaliers have been lucky enough to avoid any major injuries this season, which has been one of the reasons for their historic start to the year.
However, the Wine and Gold may be running out of luck. Evan Mobley, Issac Okoro, and Caris LeVert's injuries have forced the Cavaliers to dig deeper into their bench.
The situation only got worse on Friday night against the Philadelphia 76ers; Cleveland lost another key rotation player.
Dean Wade started the game in place of the injured Mobley but only played 19 minutes and was ruled out in the fourth quarter with a right knee injury.
It wasn't clear if the injury occurred on a specific play or if it emerged as the game progressed. Either way, the Cavaliers were forced to play the rest of the game without one of their best defenders.
Losing Wade was especially problematic against the 76ers, whose offense was centered on Paul George. At the beginning of the game, Wade was in charge of guarding PG before his eventual exit.
Wade may not be a household NBA name, but he's arguably one of the most important players on the Cavaliers' roster. He's a stretch forward who can play three positions and defend any position.
Wade has started 24 of the 35 games he's played this season, and the Cavs have a 30-4 record with him in the rotation.
Hopefully, Wade's exit will be precautionary and nothing more serious. We'll have to wait and see what update Kenny Atkinson provides following the game.
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Can Former Rockets’ Wing Thrive with Wizards?
Weeks ago, the Houston Rockets made the tough decision to finally off-load scoring wing Cam Whitmore to the Washington Wizards. Whitmore was seen as the 2023 draft’s biggest slider, eventually falling to Houston at No. 20. He came in as a talented scorer on the wing — and while he showcased plenty of firepower — was never able to really exit the launch pad, making him available to teams league-wide. The market wasn’t booming for Whitmore, as the Rockets received just two second round picks in return. But it was clear via the team’s messaging that they still valued him as a future scorer in the NBA. While Whitmore never fully got his chance to shine with the organization, it was due more to the team’s rapid ascension in the West more than anything. “I just think we’re not a developmental team right now,” Rockets General Manager Rafael Stone said of the Whitmore deal. “We wanted to provide Cam [Whitmore] with the opportunity to do, in his career, what we still very much believe he can do.” With the Wizards, Whitmore will have ample opportunity to get shots up and develop his game. While he’s known as a scorer, he still has a ways to go in developing his all-around game: defense, passing, decision-making and more. And his new squad should afford him those reps. “I think Cam’s insanely talented,” Stone continued. “A really nice young man. And [we] wanted to provide him an opportunity to go home, and be in a situation where he can really play through mistakes in a way we never could afford him, just in the iteration of the Rockets that he joined.” Washington is set to be one of the worst teams in the league next year, led by a mismatched group of up-and-coming developmental prospects, and veterans in need of late-career surges. If Whitmore's unable to find his NBA niche here, there's a chance he might not be a fit for rotations in general. On the flip side, Whitmore could blossom with added opportunity and, as Stone put it, a place to work through woes.
Bears GM speaks out after superstar goes down with injury
Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson is expected to miss most of training camp due to a leg injury, per ESPN’s Courtney Cronin. Johnson was placed on the non-football injury list when veterans reported to Chicago for camp. He suffered the injury during offseason training, according to Bears general manager Ryan Poles. Johnson is coming off his second consecutive Pro Bowl and is headed into the second year of a four-year, $76M deal. He has dealt with a number of injuries over his career, playing no more than 15 games in a season over the first four years of his career. In 2024, he played a full season for the first time, starting all 17 games with a career-high 1,032 snaps. An extended absence into the regular season would force Chicago to find another starting cornerback among their veteran depth, but Poles said that the team is not “overly concerned” about a long-term injury. “We’ve got a lot of faith that he’s going to put in the time to rehab and be his full self when he comes back,” said Poles on Tuesday. 2023 fifth-rounder Terell Smith will likely step into a first-team role in Johnson’s absence. Chicago largely relied on a cornerback trio of Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson and Kyler Gordon last year; Smith is the only remaining defensive back on the roster who played at least 150 snaps on the boundary for the Bears in 2024, according to Pro Football Focus. Offseason signings Nick McCloud and Tre Flowers may also see a bump in reps over the coming weeks as Johnson rehabs his leg with his eyes on returning for the Bears’ Week 1 opener against the Vikings.
Red Sox Aren't Getting Standout Back Anytime Soon
The Boston Red Sox got some bad news in the infield. Rookie infielder Marcelo Mayer has gotten a lot of time at second base and third base. Since Alex Bregman returned, Mayer has gotten most of his action at second base while also filling in as the Red Sox worked Bregman back slowly. Unfortunately, he's on the Injured List, though, due to a wrist sprain. MassLive.com's Christopher Smith shared the lastest update on Mayer from Red Sox manager Alex Cora on Saturday noted that he's "not gonna play soon." "No new updates on Marcelo Mayer's wrist sprain, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said," Smith shared. "'Just waiting for results and see specialists and all that stuff,' Cora added. 'He's not gonna play soon. So have to make sure where we're at and what the course of action is going to be.'" Losing Mayer is tough. Defense has been a question mark for Boston once again this season but Mayer has helped in that area. With Mayer out, Ceddanne Rafaela is expected to get a lot of action at second base. That helps to alleviate the logjam in the outfield, but also removes arguably the best defensive center fielder in the game. Boston isn't at full strength and Cora noting he's "not gonna play soon" certainly doesn't sound positive. Before going down, Mayer was slashing .228/.272/.402 with four homers, 10 RBIs, and eight doubles. Will the Red Sox add another piece ahead of the trade deadline? It absolutely makes sense at this point.
Yankees’ Aaron Boone Provides Giancarlo Stanton Update After Aaron Judge Injury
The New York Yankees are one of the best teams in the AL, but the absence of Aaron Judge changes the equation. The 33-year-old is on the 10-day IL with a flexor strain in his right elbow, which puts the Yankees in a bind. Losing Judge for any extended period doesn't just mean losing a star; it means losing the best hitter of this generation. The AL MVP favorite leads baseball with a .342 batting average and a 1.160 OPS, and he's third in both homers (37) and RBI (85). On top of that, Judge's injury affects fellow slugger Giancarlo Stanton. Judge plays right field while Stanton designated hits, but the latter player could be forced to play outfield for the first time since 2023 if Judge is too injured to throw upon return. In that case, Judge would be the designated hitter. Yankees manager Aaron Boone explained the team's plans for Stanton before Monday's bout with the Tampa Bay Rays, via SNY. "Yeah, sure," he said about the Yankees considering playing Stanton in the outfield. "But even right now, [envisioning] bringing Judgie back initially, you still got Jasson [Dominguez], Grish [Trent Grisham], and Belli [Cody Bellinger], so I don't view it a lot." "But obviously want to keep G playing as much as we can, and [have] his bat in there," he continued. "Want to get a feel of what it [him playing in the outfield] ooks like, how he's responding. I want to hear his thoughts on it. Does he feel like it's a real option? And then to have that in your pocket, sure, it's a nice something to have where it gives you more bench flexibility on a given day." Stanton is slashing .276/.355/.520 with seven homers and 20 RBI over 29 games this season. The 35-year-old tallied 27 homers and 72 RBI over 114 regular-season games last year before notching seven homers and 16 RBI over 14 playoff contests. New York is 5.5 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for first place in the AL East and one game ahead of the Boston Red Sox for the first Wild Card spot.
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