Cavs News: J.B. Bickerstaff Comments On Darius Garland, Evan Mobley Injuries

J.B. Bickerstaff says that the Cleveland Cavaliers need to "play together" as they navigate the Darius Garland and Evan Mobley injury news.

The last 24 hours have been tough for the Cleveland Cavaliers organization and their fans. 

First, they found out that their franchise point guard Darius Garland will miss several weeks with a fractured jaw. Then just a few hours later, it was announced that Evan Mobley could miss up to two months and needed knee surgery.

J.B. Bickerstaff talked about how he is helping his players through all of this news and what his message is on the team losing two stars.

"It's an open conversation obviously," said Bickerstaff. "You've got to give guys information and give them time to process. But you also got to give them the understanding that, you know, we still trust and believe in this group of guys."

Nov 28, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) lets the ball roll on an inbounds play in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Hawks at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Cleveland's head coach also went on to say that there's no way you can replace Garland or Mobley, but each of the players on the Cavaliers' roster is there for a reason. 

Bickerstaff is not wrong when he says there's no way to replace DG or Mobley. Garland is averaging 20.7 PPG and 5.9 AST while Mobley has been one of Cleveland's best defenders, posting a defensive rating of 108.7

The core message was that the team needs to be one cohesive group as they navigate this difficult time. 

"At the end of the day, we do it together. We're the Cavaliers, we play Cleveland Cavaliers basketball. We're positive, we're upbeat, we're going to compete our tails off. But at the end of the day, no matter what happens, we do it together."