Cavaliers: J.B. Bickerstaff reveals injury update for Evan Mobley
Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff ruled out rookie Evan Mobley from playing on Sunday versus the Philadelphia 76ers due to a sprained left ankle.
Mobley endured the injury midway through the second quarter on Monday in a win over the Orlando Magic. His left ankle appeared to land on the foot of rookie Franz Wagner after attempting to contest a shot. He looked to be in immediate pain and hobbled off the court.
The third pick did not play on Wednesday at home in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks and did not travel with the team on its two-game road trip that wraps up Saturday in New York. Bickerstaff does not expect Mobley, or center Jarrett Allen, to play on Sunday.
Bickerstaff is hopeful they can return to play at some point during their final four games of the season or in the play-in tournament, he said prior to playing the Knicks.
Both of them are, obviously, back home. They are doing stuff on the floor but we’ll see how it goes from there. I wouldn’t expect them to play tomorrow. … The thing with Jarrett is it just takes time. We’ll never put him in a comprising position but I am still hopeful that maybe in one or two of the final games, we’ll be able to have both of those guys back.
The Cavaliers struggled as of late, posting a 7-14 record since Feb. 12, and have fallen to seventh in the Eastern Conference entering play on Saturday. They would host the Brooklyn Nets in the play-in tournament as of now but could fall further down the standings.
Mobley is averaging 14.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.6 blocks in 67 games. He leads all first-year players in rebounding and blocks while he is fifth in scoring. He needs one more point to become the eighth rookie in team history to reach at least 1,000 points.
The Cavaliers and Knicks tipped off at 1 p.m. EDT on Saturday.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
Related
Evan Mobley favored to win Rookie of the Year by various NBA writers
Evan Mobley put up a stat line no Cavs rookie has had since 1987
Draymond Green is an Evan Mobley fan and has a lofty prediction for him
List
There goes that Mann: Tre rising up in latest Rookie Power Rankings
