The Cleveland Cavaliers have been dominant through the first third of their season and now face one of their toughest stretches as they begin a four-game road trip at the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.
This Western Conference trip is Cleveland’s longest of the season so far, and they are currently on a five-game winning streak. The Cavaliers are coming off a close win against Utah without forwards Dean Wade (knee) and Isaac Okoro (shoulder).
Wade might return on Friday, but Okoro is expected to be out for a few weeks due to his right shoulder sprain.
Despite missing these two players in their win over the Jazz, the Cavaliers used a smaller lineup at times but still received strong performances from forward Evan Mobley, who had 22 points and 10 rebounds. Mobley, the third overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, is having a career-best season with an average of 18.5 points and 9 rebounds per game.
Mobley has been a strong complement to guards Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, who have been key to the Cavaliers’ early success.
Mitchell (23.3 points) and Garland (20.4 points) lead the team in scoring, and center Jarrett Allen is averaging a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds), with Mobley adding another layer to a deep team.
“We’ve all said it, for us to be the team we want to be … Evan had to take that step,” Mitchell said recently. “And the best part about it is Jarrett Allen is his biggest cheerleader.”
Friday’s game is the second of two matchups between the teams, and Denver will be looking to even the score after losing 126-114 to Cleveland on Dec. 5.
Denver star Nikola Jokic had a triple-double in the loss, one of his NBA-leading 11 this season. He now has 141 triple-doubles in his career, ranking third all-time behind Nuggets teammate Russell Westbrook (200) and Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson (181).
The Nuggets, who have won five of their last seven games, might be without forward Aaron Gordon for this game after he left Wednesday night’s 110-100 loss at Phoenix with a right calf strain.
Gordon had previously missed 10 games this season due to a similar injury.
“Hopefully, Aaron is going to be ready to go for Cleveland, but we’ll have to wait and see these next 24, 48 hours,” said Denver coach Michael Malone.
Gordon is fifth on the team in scoring with 13.7 points per game and is their most versatile defender, capable of guarding any position. If Gordon is unable to play, Peyton Watson, the team’s leading shot blocker (0.9 per game), is likely to start.
Jokic leads Denver in scoring (30.7 points), rebounding (12.6), and assists (9.4), continuing to have an MVP-caliber season. However, the Nuggets will need help from Jamal Murray, who is second on the team in scoring at 18.8 points per game, despite dealing with injuries.
Murray missed Monday’s win over Phoenix due to a right ankle sprain and had just 13 points in his return on Wednesday.
“I’m just trying not to use (injuries) as an excuse. Not mention it,” Murray told The Denver Post. “I know I get slack for it, but (I’m) just going out there, and if I’m good enough to play, I play. That’s how I look at it.”
