Cavaliers PF Evan Mobley has missed just two games this season and could miss a third against the Bulls on Wednesday. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year is dealing with a left calf injury amid his best scoring and playmaking season to date.
Cleveland has asked a lot of its 24-year-old pillar early in 2025-26, as he's averaging 19.1 points per game — a career high — and 9.3 rebounds. The big man is also effective as ever on the defensive end and is posting a career-high 2.6 steals and blocks per contest.
Below, we’ll provide an Evan Mobley injury update and go over what Cavaliers players are worth targeting out to help you with your lineup additions, plus PrizePicks NBA projections and analysis for Wednesday night.
Evan Mobley Injury Update vs. Bulls Tonight: Ruled Out
Mobley has suffered a left calf strain and is set to miss two to four weeks, ruling him out for Wednesday's contest vs. the Bulls.
It appears like Cleveland might have to make a long-term adjustment to its starting lineup without the team’s second-leading scorer available.
Dean Wade replaced Mobley in a loss to the Hornets on Sunday and has already amassed 126 career starts with the Cavaliers.
While Wade scored 14 points against Charlotte over the weekend, he has modest career averages of 7.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game as part of Cleveland’s first unit. Another frontcourt member could benefit more than him in the weeks to come.
Who Will Benefit With Evan Mobley Out? Look to De'Andre Hunter
While Mobley and Jarrett Allen both play C at times, the better pivot appears to be Cavaliers F De’Andre Hunter. He’s showcased more scoring upside than Cleveland’s starting center, and finding 20.0 points per game elsewhere will likely be difficult.
Hunter is enduring a down shooting year. He’s converting just 42.9% of his field goals and 30.3% of his shots from long range. Both of those figures are career lows for the swingman. However, his opportunity for increased volume is too good to pass up.
The Virginia product’s usage rate with the Cavaliers (19.7%) has been slightly below league average when Mobley is on the court with him since last season, per Add More Funds. However, that figure jumps to 24.3% when Mobley is off the court.
That’s more in the low-tier co-star range.
Hunter has logged just six games with Cleveland while Mobley is unavailable, but he had to compete with players like Max Strus andTy Jerome in most of those contests. Now both of them are out of the picture.
The former Hawks swingman can fill it up in a hurry when he’s on and is attempting 10.5 three-pointers per 100 possessions, per databallr. That’s an 85th-percetile figure.
Hunter is averaging 15.4 points and will be one of three active Cavaliers players who are attempting more than 10 shots per game against Chicago.
De’Andre Hunter PrizePicks Projections vs. Bulls
Here are the most popular Hunter player picks vs. the Bulls tonight, via PrizePicks, where you can make picks on player stats to win cash if you're right.
- 14.5 Points
- 4 Rebounds
- 16.5 Pts+Asts
- 18.5 Pts+Rebs
- 201.5 Pts+Rebs+Asts
- 5.5 Rebs+Asts
Make Cavaliers vs. Bulls Picks on PrizePicks
Evan Mobley has suffered a left calf strain and is set to miss anywhere between two and four weeks. The Cavaliers' PF will be missed on both ends, but De’Andre Hunter stands out as a player who can help replace his valuable scoring contributions, alongside Jarrett Allen.
No matter how you think Wednesday's game between the Cavaliers vs. Bulls plays out, you can cash in on your NBA picks on PrizePicks. Just pick your players, predict More or Less on their stats, and cash in if your picks are right.
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