CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cavaliers will be without their entire starting lineup Saturday against the Dallas Mavericks after four players were ruled out following their travel difficulties returning to Cleveland.
Shooting guard Donovan Mitchell (left knee bruise), point guard James Harden (left calf), small forward Peyton Watson (right hamstring) and center Jarrett Allen (right knee) were listed as inactive by coach Kenny Atkinson during his pregame availability.
All four played Friday in Cleveland’s 133-122 loss at the Miami Heat in an NBA Cup contest.
Cavaliers power forward Evan Mobley (left big toe sprain) missed his second consecutive game after being hurt Wednesday at New York.
“You know how it goes in the NBA,” Atkinson said. “We have to deal with different circumstances, obviously, in this case, but we’ll go out and compete and make the fans proud of us.”
Fans at Rocket Arena booed loudly when the inactive players were announced.
The nationwide ground stop on Friday forced the Cavaliers to remain in South Florida following their game, then fly home to Cleveland on Saturday morning.
With tens of thousands of travelers still in airports attempting to reschedule their flights, Atkinson refused to complain about his team’s travel issues.
“It could have been a lot worse,” he said. “We got lucky to get back into a hotel after the game because it was really busy in Miami. And we’re lucky we got out and got in here early today.”
Mario Hezonja and Thomas Bryant made their initial starts of the season for Cleveland, while Jaylon Tyson, Tyrese Proctor and rookie Meleek Thomas joined them in the lineup.
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