The Cleveland Cavaliers are yet to win a game in preseason as they head into their Wednesday night clash against the Detroit Pistons. Nevertheless, the Cavs know that what’s important for them is to enter the regular season with a clean bill of health as they prepare for the bloodbath that lies ahead of them in the Eastern Conference.
The good news is that the Cavs, for the first time in preseason, will be having their core four of Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Darius Garland, and Jarrett Allen active when they take on the Pistons. But at the moment, the Cavs are still dealing with some injury concerns to sharpshooters Max Strus and Sam Merrill, both of whom missed their previous preseason game (a 129-117 loss to the Indiana Pacers) due to a hip and wrist injury, respectively.
Nevertheless, it doesn’t seem as if the injuries to Strus and Merrill are anything serious. Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson revealed that they have simply been erring on the side of caution so as to not re-aggravate the injuries they’re dealing with.
“Just being extra cautious with both of them,” Atkinson said, per Sam Amico of Hoops Wire.
With the games not counting yet during preseason, this is the best route for the Cavs to take. Last year, they dealt with plenty of injury problems, and they will not want to run the risk of going through the same predicament again.
The Cavs have plenty of depth anyway to weather an absence from both Strus and Merrill, at least for the time being.
Cavs’ battle for wing minutes continues
Both Max Strus and Sam Merrill are expected to play a role for the Cavs, thanks in large part to their ability to command defensive attention from the perimeter thanks to their relentless off-ball movement and ability to make threes off screens and on the move.
The Cavs’ other options on the wing don’t provide the luxury Strus and Merrill do. Dean Wade is a solid catch-and-shoot option, but he doesn’t have the movement both Strus and Merrill do on offense. Caris LeVert is a shot creator who functions as a de facto point guard when he’s on the floor. Isaac Okoro is a defensively-inclined wing who has troubles creating his own shots.
Regardless, having players who can bring different dimensions to the team is important, enabling the Cavs to depend on matchups for their minutes allocation,
