Dec 27, 2020; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons (25) defends Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
The Cavaliers could be without Kevin Love for the extended future due to his calf injury.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been one of the league’s most pleasant surprises over the first handful of games, as JB Bickerstaff has the likes of Collin Sexton and Darius Garland playing fast-paced, high-scoring basketball. The Cavs might need to brace for an impending regression, however, as galvanizing forward Kevin Love will likely be on the mend for the next month due to a leg injury.
Love will be out for the next three or four weeks after sustaining a calf strain on Sunday. While he’ll be re-evaluated in a few weeks, this could be a destabilizing blow for Cleveland.
Kevin Love could be the perfect veteran leader for a young Cavaliers team
While Love was once a legitimate superstar in Minnesota who adapted to the role of a tertiary scorer on the team that finally helped LeBron James bring a championship to Cleveland, he has faded out of the spotlight somewhat, as some very productive years have been written off as the byproduct of playing on a lousy Cavaliers team.
With the Cavs clearly banking on the combination of Sexton, Garland, and rookie Isaac Okoro serving as the franchise cornerstones, they need someone like Love to keep the young dudes on track while also taking over in the clutch. There’s only so much Love can do from the bench, and his injury threatens to ruin Cleveland’s hot start.
While it remains to be seen if Cleveland can sustain this early-season success, they will at least be an entertaining team to watch every night. However, electricity and young guards filling up the stat sheet doesn’t always equate to wins, and they could be harder to come by without Love, as the Cavs lack the frontcourt depth to sustain losing him for a long period of time.