The injury bug has hit the Cleveland Cavaliers, once again. The Wine and Gold were without Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Keon Ellis, Dean Wade, and still Max Strus in their loss to the Detroit Pistons on Friday evening. 

According to one NBA insider, Mitchell could miss some time with his groin injury, and Harden’s timetable remains a mystery, as he's having trouble dribbling. 

With several core members of the Cavaliers sidelined, these are three players who need to step up in the meantime because of their absences.

The early returns from the Cavaliers’ Dennis Schroder experiment have been largely positive. He’s paired nicely with Mitchell when they’re each on the floor, and looks to be a viable backup point guard come the playoffs.

However, Schroder is still looking for his shot with the Cavs. Despite averaging just over 10 points since the trade, the guard is only shooting 36 percent from the floor and 26 percent from behind the arc.

With Mitchell and Harden out, the Cavaliers need someone from their backcourt to represent a driving threat and hit an outside shot, and Schroder can be that for Cleveland.

That said, Schroder himself was on the injury report leading up to Friday’s game after rolling his ankle against the Milwaukee Bucks, so we’ll see how much that affects him.

When Mitchell and Harden are on the floor, the offense will obviously run through one of them. Now, the Cavaliers will be looking to someone else to be the team’s number one option, and that should be Evan Mobley.

Mobley’s usage rate has declined this season, and with that, his scoring total, too. The next few weeks, while the Cavaliers look to get healthy, could be a great opportunity for Cleveland to re-focus its attention on Mobley and build his confidence ahead of the postseason.

Jaylon Tyson has already done so much for the Cavaliers this season and likely given them more than the coaching staff was anticipating at the start of the year.

Now, the Wine and Gold could rely on Tyson for another stretch, but not necessarily on offense.

Two of Cleveland’s best defenders are currently sidelined in Ellis and Wade, leaving a gaping hole for opposing wings to attack the Cavaliers’ defense. The Wine and Gold need Tyson to continue to provide physicality on the perimeter as long as this defense duo is out. 

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