The Cleveland Cavaliers ended the NBA regular season as the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed, but despite breezing through their first-round matchup against the Miami Heat, they’ve hit a bit of a road bump in the conference semifinals.
The team dropped Game 1 against the Indiana Pacers and injuries have started ramping up. All-Stars Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, as well as key reserve De’Andre Hunter are all questionable on the team’s injury report. Without them, the Cavs will have a much tougher road to earning a split before the series shifts to Indianapolis.
Here’s the latest on the availability of Cleveland’s stars as we approach Game 3 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Garland gets unfortunate update for Game 3
During an appearance on ESPN Cleveland’s ‘5 Good Minutes With Windy’, insider Brian Windhorst claimed that Garland was ‘truly hurt.’ Windhorst claims that Garland’s injury from the end of the regular season was re-aggravated during the playoffs and could keep him out of action or at least limited for quite some time.
Windhorst believes fans will see the ‘questionable’ tag on the team’s injury report and think Garland is close to returning. He emphasizes that does not appear to be the case. He reiterated, ‘It’s a terrible break. It stinks that this would happen to the Cavs right now, but you can’t focus on injury and pain management and say that’s the reason why the Cavs are struggling right now.’
Cavs head coach believes all three players will be questionable for Game 3
Cavs’ head coach Kenny Atkinson said he expects Garland, Mobley and Hunter to be listed as questionable to play in Game 3 in Indianapolis.
He emphasized that there have been positive developments in Garland, Mobley, and Hunter’s respective injuries noting that all three participated in a shootaround Thursday morning, per The Akron Beacon Journal reports.
‘They all got some reps up, but we didn’t do anything live. They kind of participated in the walk through, and [we’re] hoping for the best,’ said Atkinson.
Garland, Mobley, Hunter ruled out for Game 2
Cavaliers fans got the worst news possible moments before tip-off in Game 2, as several sources revealed that Garland, Mobley, and Hunter had all been rule out for tonight’s contest.
In place of Garland and Mobley, the Cavs announced Ty Jerome and Dean Wade will slot into the starting lineup for a crucial Game 2.
Latest injury news on Cavs stars
Coach Kenny Atkinson confirmed before the game none of Darius Garland, Evan Mobley or De’Andre Hunter participated in Tuesday’s morning shootaround. All three remain questionable and appear to be game-time decisions.
‘We have to be ready for Plans A, B and C,’ Atkinson said.
Darius Garland
Darius Garland was not seen at the Cavs’ shootaround Tuesday morning, per NBA reporter Chris Fedor.
Garland was seen jogging on a treadmill in a room beside the court though.
Garland injured his toe during the Cavs’ first-round matchup against Miami and has missed each of the team’s past three games.
Garland is labeled as questionable on ESPN’s injury report.
Evan Mobley
Like Garland, Mobley (sprained ankle) was also not seen at the team’s shootaround Tuesday morning. Mobley’s injury occurred during Cleveland’s Game 1 loss against Indiana.
De’Andre Hunter
Hunter was also not seen during the portion of the shootaround open to the public. Hunter did, however, express intent to play in Game 2 after he suffered a sprained right thumb when it dislocated during a hard fall in Game 1.
Hunter is also listed as questionable.
How to watch Pacers vs. Cavs, Game 2:
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: Rocket Arena in Cleveland
TV: TNT, truTV
Stream: Max, Sling TV
Stream Pacers-Cavs with Sling TV