Cleveland Cavaliers Face Indiana Pacers with Key Players Resting

The Cleveland Cavaliers will be notably undermanned as they face the Indiana Pacers in their second preseason game on Thursday night. Head Coach Kenny Atkinson announced before the game that four of the team’s starting players, including Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Max Strus, will not be participating. Garland, Mitchell, and Mobley are using the time to rest, while Strus is affected by a right hip contusion sustained during the team’s exhibition opener earlier in the week.

Despite Strus’s absence, scans have shown no long-term concerns regarding his hip injury, and he remains on a day-to-day status. In addition to the absence of these starters, the Cavaliers will also be without reserves Caris LeVert and Sam Merrill, bringing the total inactive players list to six. Merrill’s absence is due to a sore wrist that has been bothering him since training camp and resulted in his late addition to the injury report.

“We really want to take a look at the whole roster and give them a fair shot, with fair minutes and get a good evaluation there,” explained Atkinson. “Just look at different lineups.” This approach gives an opportunity to assess the team depth as they prepare for the regular season.

The Cavaliers will proceed with two more road exhibition games following Thursday’s encounter with the Pacers. They are scheduled to play against former coach J.B. Bickerstaff‘s Detroit Pistons on October 16 and then engage in the second of a home-and-home series against the Chicago Bulls on October 18. Atkinson shared that he plans to use these upcoming games as a structured buildup towards the regular season, intending to field his primary lineup, barring any unforeseen injuries.

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