CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – As the regular season begins to wind down, Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff still doesn’t know when he’s getting his two big stars back on the floor.
All-Star center Jarrett Allen and rising star and rookie of the year candidate Evan Mobley remain out with injuries.
“They’re progressing,” Bickerstaff said prior to Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
However there is no timetable for either to return this week.
Allen has missed the last 15 games after suffering a broken third finger on his left hand, but he has been “ramping up” his conditioning according to Bickerstaff.
“We’re monitoring how much attention that finger is getting,” Bickerstaff said. “But making sure that if the time comes, and hopefully when the time comes, it won’t be a conditioning fatigue, legs issue. It’s just a matter of the finger healing properly and giving him the best time to heal.”
Mobley suffered a left ankle sprain in the second quarter of a 107-101 win over the Magic March 28. He has missed the last four games, including Sunday’s.
Bickerstaff did get some good news – veteran guard Rajon Rondo returned from a sprained right ankle after missing the previous 11 games.
“We expect Rondo to get some minutes [Sunday],” Bickerstaff said.
With the playoffs approaching, Rondo figures to have a role despite missing so much time recently.
“I trust him,” Bickerstaff said, “that if he plays and gets his rhythm – because of his mental capacity and how he can manipulate the game, that doesn’t go away. What happens in the playoffs and I think why it works and why he’s been so successful is because the game slows down so much, and now it’s much more half-court basketball and it’s much more of how you manipulate the defense and then how defensively you can take things away from the offense because you’re using your brain. And I think that’s why he’ll have success for a long time.”