Cavs’ Rookie of the Year favorite could miss up to a month

Cleveland Cavaliers rookie center Evan Mobley is expected to miss a few weeks due to a right elbow sprain suffered in a Nov. 15 game against the Celtics. 

When the Cleveland Cavaliers hosted the Boston Celtics on Monday night, they were 9-5 this season.

This season’s early success is largely due to Cavs rookie Evan Mobley, who is so talented that other NBA coaches are jealous that Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff is the one who gets to coach him.

But in the final 11 minutes of the game, Mobley was absent from the court with a right elbow sprain. Before he was taken out, Mobley was visibly struggling with the injury, going 0-of-11 fromt the field and only managing to score one point. Still a defensive phenom, Mobley managed to get nine rebounds, two blocks and five assists before he was taken out.

Now, it looks as if he’ll be out for a while.

If Mobley sits out four weeks, he could miss up to 15 games, which could make a huge difference for how the rest of the Cavaliers’ season will go.

Cleveland Cavaliers rookie center Evan Mobley out 2-4 weeks with elbow sprain

Heading into Monday night, Mobley was averaging 15.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. The difference Mobley made can even be seen by the difference in the fourth quarter. Without the potency Mobley offered on offense and defense, the Cavs fell behind the Celtics.

The comparison is even more clear when considering that the Cavs defeated the Celtics on Saturday night 91-89. On Monday, they lost 98-92.

Mobley is doing something that most NBA rookies never do: he’s stepped onto the Cavaliers and made an immense, immediate impact.

Here’s what FanSided’s Ben Ladner had to say about Mobley’s performance thus far:

“It’s not often that a rookie steps into the NBA and provides immediate value on defense, let alone a 20-year-old being asked to help anchor his team. The awareness, technique and communication required of NBA big men is too much for most young players to grasp and often takes years to master.”

FanSided’s Ian Levy went on to elaborate how Mobley has been making a difference on offense, too.

“His advanced length, quickness, anticipation, awareness and vision are paying dividends at the offensive end of the floor too.”

With their difference-maker out for a significant chunk of the season, the Cavaliers will struggle to keep up with other NBA teams without Mobley on their side.