Cleveland Cavaliers Miss Key Starter vs Spurs Before Pistons Matchup

The Cavaliers played without Evan Mobley against the Spurs. On Friday, they'll take on the Pistons.

Apr 12, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) and forward Evan Mobley (4) celebrate in the fourth quarter against the Indiana Pacers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images

On Thursday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers fired up a back-to-back set with a matchup against the San Antonio Spurs. On Friday, Cleveland will close it out against the Detroit Pistons.

Heading into their matchup against the Spurs, the Cavaliers ruled out their starting forward, Evan Mobley. Suddenly, he was a name to keep an eye on for Friday’s matchup, as his availability could come into question.

The Cavaliers managed to find success in Mobley’s absence on Friday. With most of their core group on the floor, Cleveland put the struggling Spurs away with a 124-116 victory.

Mar 21, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) shoots over Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) during the second half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Fortunately for Cleveland, Mobley is on pace to be returning to take on the Pistons on Friday, as his reason for missing Thursday’s game was due to rest. Unless there are sudden setbacks in play for the star forward, the Cavaliers are expected get a reinforcement.

This season, Mobley has appeared in 64 of the Cavs’ 72 games. The veteran has averaged 19 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and one block per game while seeing the court for roughly 30 minutes per night.

When the Pistons faced the Cavs last, back in early February, Mobley checked in for 34 minutes. He made over 60 percent of his shots from the field and went 3-5 from beyond the arc. Mobley had a 30-point outing and came just one rebound and three assists shy of a triple-double in a tight Cavaliers victory.

Cleveland is rolling on a three-game road streak before Friday’s action. At this point, the Cavaliers have the division locked up and five games ahead of the Boston Celtics for the first seed.

Meanwhile, the Pistons have managed to move up the Eastern Conference standings, picking up the fifth seed over the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Pistons and the Cavs will tip off at 7 PM ET on Friday.