Cleveland Cavaliers has secured their first winning season without LeBron James on the roster since 1998. The Cavs did what they had to vs the rebuilding Orlando Magic on Monday to put an end to a three-game skid.
However, they seem to have suffered another big loss due to injury as Evan Mobley went down with an ankle sprain. The 7-footer went up to contest a shot and then came down on Magic forward Franz Wagner’s foot, rolling his ankle.
Mobley limped to the locker room and never returned for the rest of the game. That’s another big blow for the injury-plagued Cavaliers, who are already missing players to season-ending injuries.
Mobley, the No. 3 overall pick in the draft, is averaging 14.9 points and 8.3 rebounds in 67 starts. He is the top favorite to win the rookie of the year award this season.
”It gutted us to lose Evan, whether it’s for a game, two games, three games or whatever it may be,” Kevin Love said on Mobley injury, via NBA.com. ”We need to keep fighting and hope that he recovers quickly and can be out there with us because he means so much to the team.”
Moreover, All-Star center Jarrett Allen has missed the team’s last 11 games with a broken finger, and it’s not known when he’ll be back. J.B. Bickerstaff has also dealt with injuries of guard Caris LeVert and forward Lauri Markkanen for long stretches of the season.
While, veteran point guard Rajon Rondo has been sidelined for the last eight games of his team. A few days back, the Cavs announced Dean Wade was ruled out for the season.
He was the third player to suffer a season-ending injury in the Cavs’ roster along with Ricky Rubio and leading scorer Collin Sexton. Despite all the struggles, Cleveland remained afloat in the tough Eastern Conference.
With Monday’s win, the Cavaliers snapped a three-game skid and clinched their first winning season in four years. Cleveland is at 43-33, which ranks as the 7th best record in the East.
The top six teams are guaranteed playoff spots while teams No. 7-10 will meet in a play-in tournament.
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