Multiple Cavaliers Ruled Out For Season Opener Against Raptors

The Cleveland Cavaliers will be without Max Strus, Emoni Bates, Luke Travers, and JT Thor against the Toronto Raptors.

Dec 16, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus (1) watches as he makes a three point basket during the first half against the Atlanta Hawks at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Cavaliers will kick off the 2024-25 season on Wednesday night North of the border against the Toronto Raptors. However, the Wine and Gold will start this season slightly undermanned due to injuries and other player unavailabilities.

Max Strus - OUT

Max Strus will miss Cleveland's season opener and up to the first six weeks of the season with a sprained ankle he reportadley suffered after stepping on a coach's foot during practice.

Without Strus in the starting lineup, the Cavs will need to find a new small forward to run with the first group. Kenny Atkinson gave a little bit of insight into this during Monday's practice and revealed that they could determine their starting forward based on matchups.

For Cleveland's matchup with Toronto, Atkinson hinted that Dean Wade could start at the wing. Caris LeVert is another player who's been mentioned in conversations.

Apr 2, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus (1) dunks the ball against the Utah Jazz during the second quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images / Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Emoni Bates - OUT

Emoni Bates is currently on a two-way contract, so he won't play every game with the Cavaliers anyway. However, the start of his seaosn is being delayed due to knee surgery he underwent earlier this month to repair a torn menisucs.

The organization said that Bates will be reevaluated in about one month.

Luke Travers, JT Thor - OUT

Luke Travers and JT Thor will be unavailable for Cleveland's season opener, but it's not because of injuries. They're both on two-way contracts and will start the season on a G-League assignment with the Cleveland Charge.

Toronto Raptors Inactives

Let's take a quick look at who will be unavailable for the Raptors on Wednesday. As of late Tuesday night, RJ Barrett, Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk and Ja'Kobe Walter have all be ruled out.