The Cleveland Cavaliers are most certainly not having a fun time right now. The team announced that All-Defensive big man Evan Mobley will be sidelined for 6-8 weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. That comes shortly after it was also reported that Darius Garland will miss several weeks with a fractured jaw.
Per the team's statement:
"Cavaliers forward/center Evan Mobley will have arthroscopic left knee surgery at Cleveland Clinic Sports Healthy on Monday, December 18 to remove a loose body. Recent imaging and a series of treatment and rehabilitation confirmed that surgery was the best option to alleviate the discomfort in the knee. Mobley has missed the Cavaliers previous four games and is expected to be out approximately six to eight weeks. His status will be updated as appropriate."
That's now two of Cleveland's starting players on the injured list, less than ideal for a team that was already off to a rough start this season. Losing Garland will impact a Cavs offense that was already 25th in the league, but being without Mobley for an extended period of time will be felt even more as he helped anchor an eighth-ranked defense. Cleveland's ability to limit opponents from putting up big numbers was keeping them afloat as the offense struggled to get off the ground. But now with Mobley out, that stout defense is in jeopardy too.
When Mobley's on the court, the Cavaliers allow 9.2 fewer points, which ranks in the 95th percentile, showing his importance to this team on that end of the floor. While Cleveland has other quality defenders on its roster, no one is capable of replacing Mobley. In the last four games Mobley missed, the Cavs went 1-3, a potential sign of things to come with him out for at least a month and a half.
If you want a snapshot of just how crucial Mobley and Garland both are to what the Cavaliers do, just look at their -3.9 net rating when both are on the bench. So to say these next few weeks without them are going to be rough is an understatement. It will take Herculean efforts from Donovan Mitchell to lead the offense, and he'll need guys like Caris LeVert and Max Strus to step up on that end as well to answer for Garland and Mobley's absence. As far as the defense goes, Jarrett Allen won't have his twin tower out there in Mobley, so it'll be all on him to anchor the frontcourt.
Aside from figuring out how this rotation looks without two key players, seeing how the Cavs navigate the next month will certainly have an impact on the trade market as well. If Cleveland continues on a downward spiral the Cavaliers could become sellers rather than buyers at the Feb. 8 trade deadline. While there haven't been any major reports on what the Cavaliers plan to do on that front, that could become clearer if this next month and a half goes south quickly.
