First came the ankle sprain of Kyrie Irving, not the Cleveland Cavaliers are closely monitoring the neck and back of Kevin Love. The Cleveland Cavaliers have a lot riding on the upcoming season and injuries do not factor in. After making significant upgrades to the roster, anything short of the playoffs will be considered a disappointment. So when a player shows any sign of an injury, the natural reaction of the fanbase is panic.
Love exited the Cleveland Cavaliers' preseason game against the Indiana Pacers with an injury that appeared to be in his neck or back. The forward was pulled from the game in the second quarter as the training staff placed a warm wrap around his neck. He went back to the locker room and did not return. Naturally there was some panic with the issue, but head coach David Blatt downplayed it as natural aches and pains. He noted it was not serious at all and he remained hopeful Love would return for the team's preseason against the Dallas Mavericks.
The Cavaliers are doing everything they can to maintain the health of their biggest players. Right now, Blatt is limited James on the court. He has no plans for the veteran to play every preseason matchup no matter what the fans want.
"He may not play at home, too, and that will really make some unhappy fans," Blatt said, via the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "You just know who they're coming to when that happens. We know and we recognize the importance of all the players playing, particularly your marquee players that so many fans want to see. We're conscious of that and we're sensitive to that. On the other hand, we have to try to do the right thing for our guys and the right things for our season in terms of how we manage the minutes and manage the opportunity to perhaps give a guy a little bit of a break. I can promise you I don't do it on purpose against anybody. If it does happen, that's not the intent at all."
Cleveland is hoping to get Irving back into the mix quickly. The point guard suffered an ankle sprain and has sat out the past few preseason games. He was not wearing an ankle boot following the injury and has been participating in drills with the team. He believes the point guard will get some action in the upcoming preseason games, but will remain limited. The Cavaliers are preparing to start their season against the New York Knicks, but still have some issues to work out beforehand.
"I think we're where we want to be. We still have some kinks we need to get out," James said. "We're coming together as far as chemistry and camaraderie and it showed in our game. It was our first NBA test. I thought we fared pretty well."
