Is Evan Mobley on a Minutes Restriction on Christmas Day?

Here is what we know about the center's return to action at MSG against the Knicks.

Josh Wilson | 1 Hour Ago

Mobley returned from an injury quicker than expected / David Richard-Imagn Images

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The Cleveland Cavaliers got a Christmas gift on Thursday with Evan Mobley ready to return from injury for a showdown with the Knicks to kick off the NBA's Christmas Day programming at Madison Square Garden.

Mobley has missed a chunk of December (five games) due to a calf strain, and was a game-time decision for this contest in New York. Ultimately, the Cavs decided he was good enough to go, but he did come off the bench for the first time in his professional career.

Is Evan Mobley on a minutes restriction Christmas Day?

While Mobley is back for Christmas, his role is much different from how he normally contributes to the Cavs. While he's coming off the bench for the first time ever, he will also be on a minutes restriction.

The restriction is not a huge surprise, considering the initial projection for his return was much longer than the amount of time he ended up missing.

The exact amount of playhing time he will be limited to was not reported. So far this season, he has averaged 34 minutes per game, so something in the 20-25 minute range feels like the possible range he would sit in.

Mobley is coming off of a season in which he won Defensive Player of the Year and was named to the All-Star team. This season, he's averaging 19.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game.

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JOSH WILSON

Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.