Giannis Antetokounmpo had high praise for Evan Mobley after his Milwaukee Bucks dispatched the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.

“He can be better than me,” Antetokounmpo told cleveland.com about Mobley. “I don’t see why he can’t. It’s up to him. I will always try to improve. Every day. But he has the skill set to be a very, very good player. He’s 7-feet tall. He can move really well. He can shoot. He is very smart. As you said, he watches tapes of other players, which is very, very good for a young player. If he takes this seriously, he is going to be great.”

Antetokounmpo added that it's just a matter of time before Mobley is one of the best players in the league. Antetokounmpo also expressed appreciation that Mobley said he looks up to the Bucks star.

“I did it myself, looking up to other players, trying to make my game like theirs. But at the end of the day, everybody is unique, and everybody has a unique game. You try to take as much as you can from the person and apply it to your game and kind of form your own,” Antetokounmpo said. “For me, it’s a great compliment. Evan has a bright future. If he keeps working, he’s going to be really good. He plays the right way. He plays hard. He does everything for his team to win and they have been winning more. He has the skillset. He has the body. It’s just a matter of time until he figures out the game, what he can do and how good he can be. I see the thirst and hunger from him.

“It’s just a matter of time until he has a breakout season and becomes one of the best power forwards in the league.”

Cleveland Cavaliers big man Kevin Love has a hairline fracture in his right thumb. Love is doubtful to play in Sunday's game against the Miami Heat and will be re-evaluated daily.

Love appeared in 74 games last season. The only contests Love missed last year were due to being placed in the NBA's health and safety protocols.

In 15 games this season, Love has averaged 11.3 points and 7.4 rebounds in 21.3 minutes off the Cavs bench. Love finished second to Miami's Tyler Herro in Sixth Man of the Year voting last season.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have hit a slump after starting the season 8-1. The Cavs defeated the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night to snap a five-game losing streak. That victory came, in part, because of a lineup change.

J.B. Bickerstaff replaced Caris LeVert in his starting five with Lamar Stevens. Cleveland wanted to add more defense to their opening group, thus the addition of defensive-minded forward Stevens. The change of the lineup is expected to last for several games, in hopes that it will spark the Cavaliers back to their play from the season's opening weeks.

Dean Wade, who is a good all-around forward, would have gotten the promotion to the starting group, but he's dealing with knee soreness. Wade has missed four games in a row due to the injury.

Dylan Windler, who missed 12 of 13 games for the Cleveland Cavaliers this season with a sprained right ankle, will remain out approximately 4-6 weeks after a recent platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection was received to help treat the ankle. Imaging taken at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health confirmed the injury.

Windler’s ankle will be stabilized in a walking cast, after which a new therapy plan will be established to determine the next steps in his return to basketball activities. His status will be updated as appropriate.

Donovan Mitchell expected he would eventually be traded to the New York Knicks, but the Utah Jazz instead sent him to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a surprise move.

Mitchell was asked by Sam Amick of The Athletic if he knew who would have been traded by the Knicks to the Jazz.

"I was told it was RJ (Barrett) and hella (draft) picks. That’s what I heard. And I thought that was happening. I thought that was it. I’m there (on the East Coast) all offseason. I’m there in the summer. So that’s why I thought, 'All right, this is gonna be a long haul in Cleveland (if they gave up Garland, Mobley and/or Allen in the deal).' But when I found out those guys were (not in the deal), it was like, 'All right, we can really do something. Like, we really could do something.' Nothing to slight the guys that were involved in the deal going to Utah. But for me, it was just like, 'We have the talent.' I said it at the press conference: Our talent is scary, but we’ve got to go out there and do it."

Mitchell was asked if it was true he was focused on a trade to either the Knicks, Brooklyn Nets or Miami Heat.

"I never said that," replied Mitchell. "I don’t know where that came from. I didn’t say that. I didn’t say a lot."

Mitchell was then asked if the Cavaliers were on his radar before the trade.

"Anything you heard in the news is what I heard," said Mitchell. "Like, when I said that I heard Cleveland was in there for a second and took their name out, that’s what I thought. So I didn’t think about it. It wasn’t one that was on my radar. I just said, 'Look, I’m just gonna play wherever I’m at.' If it came back to training camp in Utah, I’d be ready for that. I took the summer to say, 'Look, I played like s— in the playoffs. I wasn’t my best self, and I want to be the best me I could be for wherever the hell I’m at. Wherever the hell I’m at — New York, Brooklyn, Miami, Toronto, OKC, Utah."

Donovan Mitchell has rebounded from a disappointing end to his tenure with the Utah Jazz to become an early All-NBA candidate during his start with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Mitchell was asked by Sam Amick of The Athletic why the Cavaliers have been such a good fit for him.

"I look at who I’ve been in my career — a guy who could score the ball," said Mitchell. "(But) I’m asserting myself on a different level defensively. Having another dominant guard (in Darius Garland) who can get you 30 (points on any given night) and also having ‘Vert (Caris LeVert), who can do the same, it relieves that pressure a little bit and allows you to be more engaged defensively, to be there and have the energy. And then on top of that, my coaches (head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and his staff) and my teammates allow me to just go, to be myself — whatever that means.

"It’s been scoring for the past few games, but it’s passing, it’s leading. I’m being myself, and honestly I have (former Jazz teammates) Ricky Rubio and Mike Conley to thank for that. Joe Ingles. They’ve taught me different things. So being able to come here in a group where we all have the same intentions (has been good). Last year, I didn’t play my best basketball. I had the worst playoff series of my career. So that stings — being out early. Then you look here, and they were done a week and a half before I was, so they have that same feeling."

The Cleveland Cavaliers were minutes away from acquiring Paul George from the Indiana Pacers in 2017, which would have allowed them to pair him with both LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.

A conference call was scheduled to finalize the terms, but the deal fell apart when it came to getting final ownership approvals.

The Cavaliers would have sent out Kevin Love to the Denver Nuggets and at least one future first round pick in exchange for George. The Pacers would have acquired Gary Harris and multiple picks.

George was instead eventually traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

Donovan Mitchell has talked regularly about his excitement to be with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Mitchell has also been careful to avoid directly comparing the Cavs to his time with the Utah Jazz. But sometimes it happens naturally.

After Cleveland beat the Boston Celtics on Wednesday, Mitchell said he's been watching film of Darius Garland and how he works with Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley on offense. In saying he wants to work with the talented young big men better, Mitchell perhaps unintentionally compared the duo to Rudy Gobert.

“I’ve never played with bigs as dynamic as them on offense," said Mitchell.

Mitchell may not be wrong, and likely meant nothing more than praise for his now teammates. However, some are taking this as a shot at Gobert, given Mitchell and Gobert often struggled to mesh on offense during their time in Utah.

Darius Garland completed his first full-contact practice since suffering an eye injury against the Toronto Raptors on opening night.

Garland could potentially return on Wednesday against the Celtics. 

"We'll see tomorrow. He went through everything. It's how he's feeling tomorrow and what the swelling looks like. But he was good today. He's done enough to go ahead and play if he's gonna play," said J.B. Bickerstaff.

The Cavs have gone 5-0 without Garland in the lineup.