Cavaliers get major injury boost ahead of undermanned 76ers matchup

The Cleveland Cavaliers have dealt with their fair share of injuries to start this season and it’s finally their turn to catch a break.

While Darius Garland is expected to make his return to the starting lineup for the Cavaliers on Wednesday, the Philadelphia 76ers have ruled out several impact players.

All-Star center Joel Embiid, Paul George, Jared McCain and Dominick Barlow will all be sidelined for the 76ers.

The Cavaliers have to capitalize on the 76ers already ruling out several players.

The 76ers will have Tyrese Maxey available, but he just played 39 minutes in Tuesday evening’s loss to the Chicago Bulls. 76ers rookie V.J. Edgecombe has been one of the early stories of the season, but the Cavs should be good enough to slow him down. While Philadelphia is 5-2, the Cavaliers will have a prime opportunity for a big victory due to so many injuries.

While Garland is expected to make his season debut, the Cavaliers also upgraded center Jarrett Allen as questionable. Allen had been dealing with a fractured finger. Additionally, the Cavs upgraded shooting guard Sam Merrill to questionable who has been sidelined with a hip issue.

"VJ gives Maxey that counterpart so now he can be himself and not have to do everything."@BooBysWorld1 explains what VJ Edgecombe has added to Philly.

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— Full Court Cleveland (@FullCourtCLE) November 5, 2025

As the Cavs slowly start to get healthier, there will be moments where head coach Kenny Atkinson could experiment with some different lineups. Additionally, it could take some time for players to get their feet back under them. Regardless, Wednesday night’s matchup against the 76ers presents a golden opportunity for a feel-good victory against an undermanned squad.

The Cavaliers could potentially be without starting forward De’Andre Hunter for this matchup, as he was added to the team’s injury report with an illness on Wednesday morning. But second-year forward Jaylon Tyson has been playing very well in his expanded role with all of the injuries.

Even if Garland and Merrill return on a minutes restriction, Cleveland’s young depth should be capable of handling Philadelphia. Second-round rookie Tyrese Proctor has received more minutes than anticipated and has eased the loss of Ty Jerome to free agency.

Without Embiid, this is a perfect spot for Evan Mobley to have a breakout performance. The fifth-year big man was expected to make some serious strides, and facing off against Philadelphia’s porous frontcourt should be a prime opportunity for that.

Philadelphia is 2-0 in games without Embiid this season, but Mobley needs to buck that trend. If Allen is able to return to the lineup, they should be able to dominate.

When Embiid does not play, the Sixers don’t have many options. Andre Drummond and Adem Bona could get significant minutes for the Sixers on Wednesday night, so the Cavaliers need to capitalize.