The Cleveland Cavaliers have released a lengthy injury report prior to their matchup against the Boston Celtics — who own the top record in the Eastern Conference and NBA at 48-12 — on Tuesday night.
Cleveland will be without several of its best players against arguably the best team in the league, as Donovan Mitchell has been ruled out due to a bone bruise in his left knee.
Furthermore, Max Strus — who played in the Cavaliers’ most recent game against the New York Knicks on March 3 — will sit out Tuesday’s home game thanks to a right knee strain.
There are five more names — Ty Jerome, Caris LeVert, Isaiah Mobley, Isaac Okoro and Tristan Thompson — included in the Cavaliers’ injury report. LeVert (right elbow sprain) and Okoro (left elbow sprain) are both questionable to play for Cleveland, while Mobley, Jerome and Thompson are listed as out.
It spells trouble for the Cavaliers that they will be short multiple rotation players against a Celtics team that is on a roll right now. Boston’s 11-game winning streak is the longest winning streak of any team currently in the 2023-24 regular season.
Additionally, to put into perspective how long their winning streak has lasted, the Celtics haven’t suffered a defeat since they fell to the Los Angeles Lakers — who were without perhaps their two best players in LeBron James and Anthony Davis — all the way back on Feb. 1, more than a month ago.
As for the Cavaliers, they’ve been playing inconsistent basketball over the last couple of weeks, evidenced by their 5-5 record over their last 10 games. Cleveland has lost two of its past three games, as before losing to the Knicks on March 3, the Cavaliers suffered a loss to the Chicago Bulls on Feb. 28.
Even if the Cavaliers manage to beat the Celtics on Tuesday, they will still be far away from eclipsing Boston in the Eastern Conference standings. The Celtics are currently nine games ahead of the Cavaliers in the standings.
