Evan Mobley and Isaac Okoro to miss Wednesday’s game
Cleveland will be shorthanded as they travel to Houston.
The Cleveland Cavaliers will be shorthanded again for Wednesday’s game against the Houston Rockets. Evan Mobley and Isaac Okoro will miss their third straight game. Mobley is dealing with a calf strain while Okoro is trying to come back from an AC joint sprain in his right shoulder that was initially injured in mid-December.
There isn’t too much of a concern about Mobley’s injury keeping him out too long. Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson categorized the injury as “day-to-day” and said that it wasn’t “going to be long-term.”
Mobley hasn’t played since last week’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder where he had just 5 points and 3 rebounds in 18 minutes. On the season, Mobley is averaging 18.6 points and 8.8 rebounds on 57.3% shooting and 42.1% shooting from deep while being phenomenal on defense. It should be enough to earn him an All-Star position this season.
Okoro had a good start to the season but hasn’t been the same since he tried to initially play through the shoulder injury at the beginning of January. He’s shot just 3-24 from the field in the five games he tried to play since the injury.
“He’s such a tough guy he wanted to play through it,” Atkinson said before the win over the Phoenix Suns. “I think it affects your shooting a little bit. He won’t say that, but we know that was the case. We’ll seek to get him right for the long haul.”
Okoro is averaging 5.8 points on 42.7% shooting from the field and 39.7% shooting from three.
The Cavaliers could also be without Caris LeVert who’s dealing with a right wrist strain. He’s listed as questionable. This injury kept him out of Monday’s contest against Phoenix.
The Rockets will be without Jabari Smith Jr. who is out with a fractured bone in his left hand.