The injury bug has bit the Cleveland Cavaliers in a big way, with five of their top seven players currently sidelined.
Having over $130 million of the team’s league-high payroll in street clothes can’t be a happy sight for owner Dan Gilbert. It also has caused Cleveland to lose back-to-back games heading into their Sunday matchup with the visiting Atlanta Hawks.
Both teams have split their first six contests but are on very different trajectories.
All-NBA shooting guard Donovan Mitchell (hamstring), center Jarrett Allen (finger), point guard Darius Garland (toe), small forward Sam Merrill (hip) and swingman Max Strus (foot) all missed the team’s last game. Mitchell, Allen, and Merrill are all listed as questionable for Sunday, while Garland and Strus will remain out.
“We were the picture of health last year. We say that’s the biggest reason we won 64 games,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said. “But then we had a number of guys get hurt in the playoffs. You obviously can’t choose when you go through something like this, but I’d rather have it happen now than at that stage again.”
The Cavaliers began their three-game homestand with a 112-101 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Friday, despite a season-high 29 points from reigning Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley and 26 from De’Andre Hunter.
Jaylon Tyson was their only other player to reach double-digits in scoring, while the rest of the roster combined for just 10 field goals on 41 attempts.
“We weren’t hitting some shots, and that’s how it goes sometimes,” Mobley said. “… We competed throughout the whole entire game and did a pretty good job of that.”
Atlanta is feeling much better about itself after a 128-108 win at the Indiana Pacers. The Hawks, Cavaliers, Raptors, Pacers and Washington Wizards are all part of East Group A in the NBA Cup, which had its first games Friday.
Jalen Johnson had a near triple-double with 22 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists for Atlanta, while Dyson Daniels finished with 18 points, nine boards, and six assists. The Hawks played without injured point guard Trae Young.
Young sustained a right knee sprain in Wednesday’s 117-112 road victory over the Brooklyn Nets, but the Hawks have yet to announce the results of his medical examination.
The Hawks outscored Indiana 34-17 in the third quarter to take command in their second straight win.
“Second half, those first four or five minutes were huge for us,” Johnson said. “We really set the tone on how the rest of the game would go.”
Fifth-year forward Johnson has taken the next step early this season, averaging a team-best 20.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 5.0 assists. Defense-first guard Daniels leads the league with 6.0 deflections per game.
“We haven’t executed like (we did on defense against the Pacers) to this point in the year, except in some stretches,” Atlanta coach Quin Snyder said. “… Getting stops and securing the ball, I think that’s why we had a big third quarter and opened up the game.”
Though the teams are in the same NBA Cup group, this matchup will not count toward the competition.