MIAMI (AP) 鈥� Evan Mobley was back in Cleveland's starting lineup on Sunday night, after missing nine games with a sprained left ankle.
It was a sign of at least some progress on the injury front for the Cavaliers, who were in Miami to play the short-handed Heat without Donovan Mitchell (nasal fracture), Max Strus (right knee) and Dean Wade (right knee). Miami was without Tyler Herro, Kevin Love, Duncan Robinson and rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr., players who have combined to make 91 starts this season.
The Cavaliers went 3-6 in the games that Mobley 鈥� the team鈥檚 only 7-footer 鈥� missed with the ankle issue. He鈥檚 been out for 32 of Cleveland鈥檚 71 games this season; left knee surgery caused Mobley to miss 23 games in December and January.
鈥淥bviously, when you go as long as he鈥檚 gone without playing games, you need to get up to NBA speed," Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "Evan, fortunately enough, that happens pretty quickly for him because of his IQ, his understanding of just where to be on the floor and kind of who he is, the selfless nature that he plays the game with."
Mobley entered Sunday averaging 15.6 points and 10.2 rebounds this season for Cleveland, which holds the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference standings.
Mitchell, who also has been dealing with knee soreness in addition to the nasal fracture, has now missed 13 of Cleveland鈥檚 last 18 games. Strus played in each of Cleveland鈥檚 first 60 games; he鈥檚 now missed all 11 contests since.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e improving," Bickerstaff said. "With both of those guys, it鈥檚 just a matter of how they respond the next day. Obviously, we've got to be cautious with Donovan. Any time you have an injury to your face like that, you鈥檝e got to make sure he鈥檚 always protected. So, we鈥檒l just see how he continues to progress.鈥�
For Miami, Herro missed his 15th consecutive game with what started as a knee issue and became a foot injury. Love missed his 13th game in a row with heel soreness, and Robinson was out for the third consecutive game with a back injury. A new issue popped up Sunday as well, with Jaquez out with left ankle and knee discomfort.
"I'm just thinking about what we need to do to prepare, to put ourselves in a position to win," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. 鈥淵ou have to attack whatever your reality is, and not overwhelm yourself with things you can鈥檛 control.鈥�
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AP NBA:
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
