REPORT: Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley ‘Trending Toward’ Monday Return

Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor writes that the Cleveland forward "is expected to get the medical go-ahead Monday night" for the Cavaliers' matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Since the Cleveland Cavaliers announced long-term injuries to both Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, they have been one of the NBA’s premier teams.

Their 14-4 record during this span is the second-best in the league.

Now, it appears that one of Cleveland’s injured stars is nearly ready to rejoin the rotation.

In a recent article, Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor writes that Mobley “is trending toward a highly anticipated return Monday night against the Los Angeles Clippers.”

The 22-year-old big man has been out for the Cavaliers’ last 22 games. He did not play in the first four games of this stretch due to a left knee injury, then the following 18 contests due to undergoing arthroscopic surgery to remove a loose body on December 18.

When Cleveland announced that Mobley would be undergoing surgery, the team said that he would miss between six and eight weeks. Tomorrow night’s game against the Clippers, who own the NBA’s best record since Garland’s and Mobley’s injury announcements, will take place six weeks to the day of Mobley’s procedure.

Nov 26, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) shoots in the first quarter against the Toronto Raptors at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse / © David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Fedor writes how Cavaliers Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff explained that Mobley will be playing limited minutes when he officially makes his return.

“It will probably be a low-20-minute-a-night workload to start with. We’ve got to ramp him back up. When you go down with a knee injury, not a lot of conditioning that you can do and those types of things. You can’t simulate the NBA. We will work on that. We will let him get his conditioning back. The minutes will increase as that gets better.”

Additionally, Fedor writes that “Mobley is expected to get the medical go-ahead Monday night.” 

Cleveland fans are hoping that he is indeed cleared, so the team can get a member of last season’s All-NBA Defensive First Team back.