After winning their last two games, the Cleveland Cavaliers will be adjusting their lineup for Wednesday night’s home game against the Orlando Magic.
#Cavs are making a change in their starting lineup tonight. Sources tell @clevelanddotcom that Dean Wade will start in place of injured Darius Garland (eye). Donovan Mitchell will move to the 1 and Caris LeVert will be at the 2. Wade at the 3 with Frobley in the frontcourt.
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) October 26, 2022
Darius Garland has yet to return to the Cavaliers’ lineup after suffering an eye injury in the season-opening loss to the Toronto Raptors last Wednesday He was only on the court for 13 minutes and collected four points, three assists and two steals.
Donovan Mitchell will be in just his fourth game as a member of the Cavaliers after being acquired in a blockbuster offseason deal. Caris LeVert doesn’t have that much more time on his Cavs resume, having been dealt from the Indiana Pacers near the trade deadline last season.
Dean Wade is starting his fourth year with the Cavaliers and has thus far put up modest numbers in his three games this season. He’s averaging 8.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.
“Frobley” is the combined nickname of Jarrett Allen and second-year big man Evan Mobley. Allen’s prominent head of hair helps explain his connection to the nickname.
Mobley is coming off a Rookie of the Year-worthy performance last season. In the end, he lost out in award balloting to Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors.
The Cavaliers have bounced back from their opening game loss to the Raptors. On Saturday night, they routed the Chicago Bulls on the road before then defeating the Washington Wizards the next night in overtime.
Keeping Garland out until he’s fully recovered is ideal to try to limit the chance of a recurring situation taking place over the course of the campaign.
The Cavaliers are especially cognizant of that fact after watching what had been a promising 2021-22 season fade because of injuries. The most prominent of those was to Allen.
After Wednesday night’s game against the Magic, the Cavs briefly hit the road against the Boston Celtics on Friday. On Sunday night, they’ll return home to face the New York Knicks.
