Cavs Corner, Week 6: Snake bites and Spida webs
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Spida was on a mission Monday. Photo: Justin Casterline/Getty Images
Injuries continue to hobble the Cavaliers as the season's first stanza draws to a close.
Stunning stat: The Cavs have played 291 five-man lineup variations thus far — a symptom of roster instability night to night.
- Only the woebegone Indiana Pacers, whom the Cavs defeated Monday, have played more across the NBA.
Record: (13-9); Last week: (12-7).
Weekly slate: Loss at Atlanta (130-123); loss vs. Boston (117-115); win vs. Indiana (135-119).
The big picture: The injury bug is not exclusive to the Cavs. Star players league-wide have played far fewer games and minutes through the first month of this season than they did two years ago, The Athletic reports.
State of play: The Cavs find themselves in a morass of suddenly competitive Eastern Conference teams.
- New York, Miami, Toronto, Orlando, Cleveland, Atlanta, Boston and Philadelphia were all separated by three games or less in the standings as of Tuesday.
💪 Weekly winners: Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley, who have anchored the starting lineup with the rest of the team in flux.
- With Jarrett Allen injured, Mobley grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds in back-to-back games in the past week.
- Mitchell scored 40+ twice in the past week — eclipsing Danny Ferry on the Cavs' franchise scoring leaderboard — and remains among the NBA's most prolific bucket-getters.
🥶 Weekly loser: Darius Garland, who is struggling to find his footing as he returns from a toe injury.
- He is scoring less than at any point since his rookie season.
- And his defensive limitations have never been more pronounced. In losses to Atlanta and Boston, the Cavs were outscored by 18 and 27 points, respectively, when Garland was on the floor.
What's next: Wednesday vs. Portland; Friday vs. San Antonio; Saturday vs. Golden State.
🇧🇷 One wild thing: Fans attending the home game Saturday will receive an Anderson Varejão bobblehead.