Cavaliers forward Kevin Love has had a rough January.
The latest example came Sunday afternoon, when the All-Star power forward exited the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder before the start of the second half.
Head Coach Tyronn Lue admitted in his post-game comments that Love’s back had been bothering him before the game even started.
“When he got out there, he felt something,” said Lue. “He tried to give it a go again, but he just couldn’t go, so we had to get him out.”
It’s the second time in less than two weeks that Love exited a game due to back issues, as he left the Jan. 16 game against the Golden State Warriors due to “back soreness.”
He also missed the next game against the Phoenix Suns (Jan. 19) due to back spasms.
Love is staying in Cleveland to be examined at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health, while the Cavs head to Dallas to face the Mavericks on Monday, Jan. 30.
The team will update his status after he is examined.
The Cavs return home for a Wednesday night game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
This is a portion of the season where the Cavs would rather have something like this happen than a few months from now, but it’s obviously not a good trend.
The team has been struggling in recent weeks, going 7-7 in the month of January, but Love’s back issues certainly wouldn’t help a team that LeBron James already believes is lacking fire power.
The All-Star Break is less than three weeks away and Love was named to the Eastern Conference squad for the first time of his three-year career in Cleveland.
Perhaps he’ll be back to 100 percent by then, but if not, the time would be ripe for the big man to try to recover fully.
Love was reportedly invited to take part in the 3-point shooutout, but “wasn’t sure” if he would accept the invitation.
For however long Love is sidelined, the Cavs’ power forward options essentially become Channing Frye, James Jones, and LeBron sliding to the four.
Along with a backup point guard, one area where the team could use help is a backup big man, and perhaps that is something the front office will address, not only to help Tristan Thompson, but also add depth in case something serious is going on with Love.
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