Injuries have knocked four Cleveland Cavaliers players out of the lineup in the span of just one week. And just 14 days since they played their first game of 2026-27, six players on the team are currently not available. Nae’Qwan Tomlin and Khalifa Diop included, have been out from the beginning.

There is nothing worse than seeing players go down, and it just keeps mounting in Cleveland. This probably won’t be like a few years ago where they magically turned into the best team in the league for a month with everybody going down. They aren’t built the same, and the way the schedule has been, there have been no nights off. Losing Jarrett Allen could be a critical blow.

At 4-4 eight games in, there are opportunities for the next man to step up. Let’s talk about three Cavaliers players with chances to shine amidst all the absences.

1) Craig Porter Jr.

The player with the most to gain from all these sudden injuries is Craig Porter Jr. Sam Merrill and Meleek Thomas are already playing key roles, while CPJ is playing for his Cleveland career right now.

He is yet to have an efficient performance, or even really look at the rim. With all other options exhausted due to fouls and injuries last night, he did get a little extra run. But, Porter didn’t make much happen. He is in line to take some of the Proctor minutes until Jaylon Tyson and Peyton Watson come back to fill some small forward holes.

Look for him to be extra motivated. This could be it.

2) Tristan Enaruna

A two-way player stands to gain a lot here. Tristan Enaruna, a certified hooper in the G-League, got his first real rotation minutes as a Cavalier last night. He played a fair number of minutes and showed some good things. In 16 minutes of action in an eight-point loss, he was -1. That means they were better with him on.

Enaruna showed he could get to the cup and finish. He grabbed a few rebounds, and even got into the passing lanes for a steal. They don’t have anybody else left that can really be an SF here with Tyson and Watson out, and now Proctor sidelined. He provides more size than Merrill.

With news of Norchad Omier joining the team in the coming days, this should all but ensure that Enaruna isn’t the one that will be cut to make room. And more minutes could be on the way this weekend, pending some injury statuses.

3) Thomas Bryant

Mario Hezonja is already in the rotation and playing big minutes pre-injuries, so his name will be omitted. In his place, let’s talk about Thomas Bryant. He looked decent in his 13 minutes against the Thunder on Wednesday night. If Jarrett Allen does in fact have to miss some games, this is the guy they will need to step up.

Khalifa Diop is still unavailable, leaving the veteran as the only true center available. Evan Mobley will get minutes there too of course, but it’s really just the two of them now. Bryant can space the floor, and has done so to the tune of 35% from 3PT in his career. He can carve position in the low-post and get other bigs into foul trouble that way. Here are a few massive jams he threw down back in March.

Bryant is 29 years of age and has been in the league a decade. He came in during the same season as Donovan Mitchell. And he’s suddenly crucial up front. He hasn’t played a major regular season role in any of his last few stops, but that’s about to change.