The Cleveland Cavaliers were without star guard Darius Garland in their Game 1 loss to the Indiana Pacers, and the team has even more injuries to deal with ahead of Game 2.
Big man Evan Mobley and forward De’Andre Hunter are now on the injury report for Cleveland along with Garland, and all three are questionable to suit up in a crucial contest for the Cavaliers.
Specifically, Mobley is dealing with an ankle sprain, and Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor didn’t give a positive update on the former University of Southern California standout. He claimed that Mobley was unable to put “full weight” on his ankle on Monday.
“There is not a very good feeling internally in the Cavs organization on Evan Mobley,” Fedor said. “From everything that I heard today, he was not able to put full weight on his ankle today when he was trying to go through his walk-through, his shootaround, his workout stuff.
“He was not able to put full weight on it. What is it going to be like tomorrow when he wakes up? Is he going to be able to participate in shootaround? Don’t know. But the day before Game 2, him not being able to put full weight on it, that is not a good sign. That is not promising when it comes to his availability for tomorrow night.”
Mobley was one of the Cavaliers’ best players in Game 1. He finished with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds and converted all but four of his 13 shot attempts from the field.
He has enjoyed the best season of his pro career by leaps and bounds in Kenny Atkinson’s maiden season as Cleveland’s head coach. Mobley was named an All-Star for the first time as an NBA player earlier on in the year and has carried his strong play over to the 2025 NBA Playoffs as well.
Mobley is averaging 17.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.0 steal per game in the playoffs while knocking down his 3-pointers at an impressive 45.5 percent clip across five games played.
If Mobley does not play on Tuesday, the Cavaliers will likely feel his absence on both sides of the ball. Cleveland arguably can’t afford to pick up a second consecutive loss at home.
Another loss for the Cavaliers on Tuesday would put the team in a tough spot to win its second-round series. Cleveland would be in a 0-2 series hole with the series is shifting to Indiana for Games 3 and 4.
For the sake of the Cavaliers making their first appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals since 2018, hopefully Mobley will play on Tuesday and help Cleveland even up the series at one game apiece. The injury statuses of Garland and Hunter are also worth keeping tabs on as the game nears.
