The Cleveland Cavaliers are expecting Kyrie Irving to return for his season debut against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday. Irving has been out while coming back from knee surgery and just as he is set to return, Iman Shumpert will be out again for the Cavaliers after suffering a groin injury against the Boston Celtics.
Irving has not played this season after having knee surgery in the summer and he is finally ready to make his debut for the Cavaliers. According to ESPN, Irving is "planning" to play on Thursday against the Oklahoma City Thunder and this will be his first game action since back in the NBA finals. Irving injured his knee against the Warriors and had surgery over the summer and now he is ready to return after coming back to practice with the team over the past few weeks. UPDATE: Irving will not play against the Thunder on Thursday.
Mo Williams and Matthew Dellavedova have been playing extended minutes with Irving out and now David Blatt will have the chance to stretch out the rotation. Iman Shumpert returned last week after being out to start the season with a wrist injury and that also will help the rotation for Blatt. Shumpert suffered a minor groin injury against the Celtics in his second game back and he could miss a couple games, but the injury is not considered serious, according to Cleveland.com.
The Cavaliers have been the best team in the east this season and they have done it without Irving and now they will get their starting point guard back in the lineup. LeBron James and Kevin Love have been shouldering the load for the Cavaliers this season so far and while it may take some time for Irving to get his full strength back, his return will help the Cavs rotation and the offense overall. Blatt said that the team was being cautious with Irving, as the point guard reportedly has been ready to return but the team held him out to ensure that he was "ready to go" once he came back.
Irving was cleared for contact last week and according to Dave McMenamin at ESPN, Irving will go through "a series of physical tests to test his readiness to play" before the Thunder game on Thursday. Shumpert may not be ready to play on Thursday, as the guard suffered a groin injury and left the game against the Celtics in the fourth quarter on Monday. Shumpert said to McMenamin after the game that his groin is "fine," but he likely will not play against the Thunder.
Kevin Love and the Cavs slumped a bit earlier in the month, but the team has rebounded with three straight wins since losing to the Miami Heat, Pelicans and Wizards. Love has bounced back after a couple of tough games, putting up eight points with 13 rebounds, six assists and two steals against the Magic and scoring 20 points with eight boards and five assists against the Celtics. The Cavs play the Thunder next.