12 David Nwaba SG

Nwaba will shift to a bench role for Thursday's game against the Suns, Gina Mizell of The Athletic reports.

Nwaba has struggled during his previous five matchups, posting averages of 8.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists during that stretch. Brandon Knight will make his third straight start at shooting guard and Cedi Osman will take over at small forward.

Nwaba will be on a minutes restriction Saturday against the Pacers, Jim Ayello of USA Today Sports reports.

On the second half of a back-to-back set, coach Larry Drew will opt to limit Nwaba's workload. A specific limit hasn't been announced, but Nwaba saw 29 minutes during Friday's contest.

Nwaba produced eight points (4-8 FG, 0-1 3Pt), five rebounds and two assists in 23 minutes Tuesday in the Cavaliers' 103-96 loss to the Celtics.

In his second game back from more than a month-long absence due to an ankle injury, Nwaba moved into the starting five at power forward. Undersized at the position at 6-foot-4, Nwaba was perhaps unsurprisingly overmatched against his counterpart, the 6-foot-8 Jayson Tatum (25 points, seven boards in 34 minutes). With the Cavaliers perhaps getting one or both of Kevin Love (toe) or Cedi Osman (ankle) back for Friday's game in Washington, Nwaba could move back to his more natural wing position, though it might come with a downturn in playing time.

Nwaba will start Tuesday's game against the Celtics, Spencer Davies of BBallInsiders reports.

Due to a myriad of absences, Nwaba will draw a start Tuesday. The matchup marks his second game back from an 18-game absence, and it's his first start since Dec. 21 against the Raptors. In six previous starts, Nwaba is averaging 5.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.0 steal across 22.7 minutes while shooting 30.8 percent from the field.

Nwaba totaled 12 points (5-6 FG, 2-4 FT), four rebounds, one assist and a steal over 15 minutes in the Cavaliers' loss to the Mavericks on Saturday.

Nwaba took the court for the first time since Dec. 23 and as expected, he was on a minutes restriction. His minutes are bound to rise, and he makes a fine speculative add in most formats.