Cavaliers Evan Mobley, Darius Garland sidelined multiple weeks with knee, jaw issues
CLEVELAND — In a “Black Friday” moment for a franchise under great pressure to win, the Cleveland Cavaliers learned they would be without two of their top four players due to surgeries.
Star guard Darius Garland suffered a fractured jaw Thursday in a loss to the Boston Celtics and will miss at least four weeks, the team said, and rising star forward Evan Mobley is headed for arthroscopic surgery on Dec. 18 to remove a loose body in his left knee that could keep him out for six to eight weeks.
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) December 15, 2023
The 23-year-old Garland, an All-Star in 2022, could be out a month or more due to the fracture, which he suffered in the third quarter in a collision with Kristaps Porziņģis. He returned to the game and finished with 19 points, but X-rays Friday revealed the extent of the damage he suffered.
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The 22-year-old Mobley has missed the Cavs’ last four games with what the team was calling left knee soreness. Cleveland went 1-3 in those games.
Garland is averaging 20.7 points and 5.9 assists per game, while Mobley is averaging 16 points and a career-best 10.5 rebounds per game.
Cleveland has lost three straight and is just 13-12 through 25 games. The Cavaliers showed so much promise in winning 51 regular-season games last year, but were bounced in the first round of the playoffs in five games by the New York Knicks and have scuffled through the first quarter of this season with injuries and general inconsistency.
Meanwhile, Donovan Mitchell’s long-term future with the franchise looms large. He can sign a lucrative contract extension over the summer, but could have last summer and there was no movement toward a deal between the two sides. If he won’t commit to the Cavs beyond the next season, the team would likely have to trade him.
Mitchell is seventh in the NBA with 27.6 points per game, with upticks in rebounds and assists from a year ago, but his shooting percentages from the field and from 3-point range are below last year’s marks.
If the Cavs’ season is to be derailed by these two lengthy injuries to key players, the rest of the league will immediately turn toward the shores of Lake Erie to see if Mitchell is available even earlier. The Cavs traded an All-Star (Lauri Markannen), two other players, and multiple firsts to acquire Mitchell. They would need to restock their cupboard with draft picks if they decide they need to move on from the multiple-time All-Star and All-NBA player.
With Garland out, the Cavs’ backcourt is incredibly thin. Mitchell is of course still there, but the two players who were supposed to be backup guards before the season started — Ricky Rubio (mental health) and Ty Jerome (ankle) — are not available.
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Caris LeVert is a candidate to step in for Garland. As is rookie Craig Porter Jr., who is averaging 7.2 points and 2.4 assists. The Cavs could look to Dean Wade or Isaac Okoro to replace Mobley in the near term.
Cleveland starts a four-game homestand Saturday night against the Atlanta Hawks.
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(Photo: Winslow Townson / Getty Images)
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