Cleveland Cavaliers fans have gotten used to checking the injury report before anything else this season. Some nights the stars play. Other nights the bench gets a long look.
The past week has pushed that further than anyone wanted. There was a road loss, a travel mess, and a night with the whole starting five in street clothes. Now the Chicago Bulls come to Rocket Arena on Monday, and the bad news has kept coming.
Evan Mobley Ruled Out Again
Danny Cunningham of Sports Radio 92.3 The Fan Cleveland shared the team’s latest injury report on X on Sunday.
“#Cavs list Jaylon Tyson (right ankle injury management) and Peyton Watson (right abdominal soreness) as questionable for tomorrow’s game against the Chicago Bulls. Evan Mobley (left great toe sprain) and Sam Merrill (right elbow injury management) are both out,” Cunningham wrote.
Evan Mobley (left great toe sprain) and Sam Merrill (right elbow injury management) are both out.
Mobley will now miss a third straight game. The big man went down hard late in Wednesday’s 115-107 win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Before that, he hadn’t missed a game all season.
Merrill will sit for a sixth straight game. He hurt his right elbow in the first half against the Philadelphia 76ers on Nov. 6. The same elbow kept him out of Cleveland’s last preseason game, so it has been bothering the shooter for a while.
Watson’s name hurts the most. He sat out Saturday to manage a hamstring injury, and now his abdomen is the issue. That hamstring also cost him Denver’s entire first-round playoff series last season.
Cleveland paid big for him, too. The Cavs gave up an unprotected 2031 first-round pick in the five-team trade and handed him a four-year, $88 million deal. He was supposed to be the answer at small forward.
Stars Return, but Cavs Still Need Their Bench
There is some good news. Donovan Mitchell, James Harden and Jarrett Allen all sat out Saturday, but none of them are on Monday’s injury report.
Even so, the Cavs will be thin. With Mobley and Merrill out, and Watson and Tyson both questionable, more minutes should go to rookie Meleek Thomas and second-year guard Tyrese Proctor.
Proctor has already shown he’s ready for that. On Saturday, the Cavs faced Dallas without their entire starting five, less than a day after an FAA ground stop left them stuck in Miami overnight.
Proctor didn’t blink. He posted his first career triple-double with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and a career-high 10 assists in a 127-117 win that got Cleveland back to 7-7.
Getting the stars back will help. But until Mobley returns, the Cavs will keep leaning on their bench to hold things together.
Cavaliers Hit With Brutal Injury News Ahead of Bulls Game