CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cavs forward Evan Mobley plans to play again.
Mobley, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Dec. 18, is on track to make his long-awaited return for Monday night's game against the Los Angeles Clippers, sources told cleveland.com.
It's been an amazing recovery for Mobley, who prides himself on being a fast healer, returning just six weeks after surgery.
More Cavs coverage
The Cavs typically take a cautious approach, with the original injury schedule calling for a six- to eight-week recovery period, but Mobley has the right mindset and has methodically approached a grueling rehab process, recently participating in full-contact practices. I'm joining. He continues to make steady progress. He cleared all the steps without any problems. The intensity of his training continues to increase day by day. He moves up and down the floor with grace and power.
With a strong desire to play and his knee responding well to the increased volume, Mobley is expected to be medically cleared Monday night, even if he will be on a one-minute restriction. Even so.
Cavs coach JB Bickerstaff told cleveland.com, “It's probably going to be a low workload, about 20 minutes a night at first.” “We've got to get him reinvigorated. If you go down with a knee injury, there's not a lot of conditioning and things like that. You can't simulate the NBA. We'll work on it. We need him to get his conditioning back. If that improves, he'll get more playing time.”
During Cleveland's recent four-game road trip, Mobley accompanied the team to continue his rehabilitation. He conducts individual on-court workouts before games, each capped off with a ton of full-court sprints, as he looks to get back into game shape after the longest period of absence of his career to date. . Mobley, who wore leg protection sleeves during training, told cleveland.com that the sleeves were optional.
Mobley played in 21 games this season, averaging 16.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.7 blocks.
The 22-year-old Defensive Player of the Year candidate went on an extended sideline on Dec. 15, the same day it was announced that starting point guard Darius Garland would also be sidelined. Few would have expected Mobley to beat Garland and return to the lineup.
But it seems to happen. Mobley is credited with a faster-than-expected recovery.
