Cavs’ Kevin Love to Miss 3-4 Weeks With Calf Strain

Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star big man Kevin Love will be out for a considerable amount of games with a right calf strain. According to a statement from the team, Love will undergo a series of treatment and rehab and will be reassessed after three to four weeks:

“Cavaliers forward Kevin Love left Sunday night’s home game against the Philadelphia 76ers in the second quarter and did not return to action after reaggravating a right calf strain initially diagnosed during the preseason. Further examination and an MRI administered on Monday at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health confirmed the injury. Love will undergo a series of treatment and rehabilitation and will be reassessed in approximately three to four weeks. His status will be updated as appropriate.”

Got Kicked in the Calf

Love first suffered the injury when he was kicked in the calf during the team’s first exhibition game against the Indiana Pacers last December 12th. He said that the injury caused his leg to be swollen from the knee to the Achilles tendon.

The 32-year old was ready to play in Cleveland’s season opener against the Charlotte Hornets but decided to take the extra time off as a precautionary measure. He appeared in Cleveland’s game against the Detroit Pistons, netting 15 points, 9 rebounds, and three assists in 37 minutes of action.

Last Sunday, Love started in their game against the Philadelphia 76ers but left the floor in the second quarter after reaggravating the injury. He played in only eight minutes and finished with four points, three rebounds, and two assists. For the season, the five-time NBA All-Star is averaging 9.5 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists per game.

Off to 3-0 Start

Despite Love seeing limited action to start the season, the Cavaliers are a surprising 3-0 after three playing dates and join the Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, and Orlando Magic as the only unbeaten teams so far as of December 28th.  This is Cleveland’s first 3-0 start since 2017 and their best without LeBron James on the roster since 2001.

It’s still too early to tell really with the league only one week old and teams playing just three games but who expected the Cavaliers to be on top of the Eastern Conference even at this stage of the season?

The Cavs have the fourth lowest odds to win the Eastern Conference at +12500 at sports betting sites and they are third from last in the futures odds to win the Central Division at +5000. But even without a superstar and their best player out with a calf injury, the Cavs have succeeded with a strong defensive effort, ball movement, and unselfish basketball. And yes, there’s this young and talented backcourt that’s slowly gaining national attention.

Sexland?

The nickname doesn’t sound too good but the players behind the duo are so damn good so far this season. Drafted one year apart as lottery picks, many thought that only one of these two guards would eventually stay with the Cavs. Playing almost identically, there were stories that they would compete against each other and force one out of the team. But after a tough 2019-20 season, things have looked smooth as silk this campaign.

Sexton is averaging 27.0 points per game while Garland is putting up 19.0 points and 8.3 assists per game. Not only have they shown that they can play together in the same backcourt, but they have also proved their critics wrong by thriving off each other in the first week of the 2020-21 NBA season.

It remains to be seen how far ( or not ) the Cavs will go this season. The rest of the league has obviously gotten better and will be able to give the favorites like the Lakers, Clippers, Bucks, and Nets a run for their money. But for a team that has struggled to find an identity since LeBron James left, the Cavs look good early. They should even be better once Kevin Love returns from injury.