
Allen may not have been dominant in Wednesday's victory, but his performance could be considered excellent. The Cavaliers center has surpassed the 20-point mark in three of his last four outings, shooting an incredible 85.4 percent from the field. Over the past week, Allen has been ranked just outside the top 25 in nine-cat per-game value. Sidekick Evan Mobley was solid on Wednesday, finishing with 13 points, four rebounds, four assists, one steal, one block and one three-pointer. Allen's production carried the night, moving the Cavaliers one game closer to locking down home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Mitchell finished behind only Jarrett Allen (25) for team lead in scoring, and he tied Allen in rebounds and Darius Garland in assists. Spida has been tremendous across his last three. He delivered a double-double with assists against the Spurs, dropped 38 against the Pistons and compiled a double-double with rebounds as Cleveland became the first team in the Eastern Conference with 60 wins. He'll look to keep up his stellar play when the Cavs face the Knicks in a heavyweight bout on Wednesday. Fantasy managers should note that Cleveland plays only three games next week.
While Cleveland's "core four" is available and will start Friday's game, Max Strus is not. Isaac Okoro, who is most valuable as a defender, will replace him in the lineup. Okoro offers limited production on the offensive end of the floor, especially with Garland and Mitchell available. Mobley's return pushes Dean Wade to the bench.
It took a half of basketball for Cleveland to figure out the mismatch they had down low. Even with Evan Mobley (rest) sidelined, San Antonio had no answer for Allen. Bismack Biyombo, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Jeremy Sochan simply had no answer for Allen in the paint. He only had two points at halftime, but he was able to put up 27 points and haul in 10 rebounds after the break. His point total in the second half would've been enough to tie his season-high for scoring. It was a dominant performance for Allen, but he won't get such a favorable matchup often.
With Evan Mobley (rest) getting a night off, Wade will fill out the open spot in the starting unit. He should see a bump in minutes, but he isn't typically an impactful player in fantasy basketball. De'Andre Hunter should end up taking on a larger reserve role with both Mobley and Ty Jerome (knee) sidelined.