The Cavaliers will be missing one of their biggest deals when they open the season Wednesday against the Hornets (7 p.m. EST, Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse).
That’s because power forward Kevin Love is officially out with a strained right calf. Love suffered the injury during the first preseason game against the Pacers more than a week ago.
Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff recently said that Love was “progressing,” but Tuesday left open the possibility that the veteran may have to be held out for the opener.
Larry Nance Jr. will start in Love’s place.
“It’s best to just move Larry in that spot and increase his minutes and workload,” Bickerstaff said. “Obviously, if Kevin is out, we will have to play some small ball. But I think to start games and the majority of the minutes, I think it’s a good thing to just move Larry because he’s got a similar skill set, his ability to pass the ball and all those things. And he’s a good player.”
Any Love injury is a concern, because he has historically been so prone to missing time. In fairness, that was not the case last season, when he appeared in 56 of a possible 65 games. Love, 32, compiled averages of 17.6 points and 9.8 rebounds in 2019-20.
“We’ll be monitoring and we’ll protect him as much as we possibly can,” Bickerstaff said earlier this week. “I know he wants to play. We just need to make sure he’s healthy first.”
Meanwhile, Nance had been sidelined with a concussion for the previous week, but passed through protocol and is ready to go.
Bickerstaff did not indicate who else will be starting, though it’s a sure bet that Andre Drummond will be at center, with Collin Sexton and Darius Garland in the backcourt. Who will start next to Nance at forward is a mystery, with returnee Cedi Osman and rookie Isaac Okoro being the candidates.
Along with Love, point guard Matthew Dellavedova (concussion), guard Dante Exum (hip) and shooting guard Kevin Porter Jr. (personal reasons) are listed as out.
Hornets small forward Gordon Hayward, who suffered a broken pinky in the preseason, is expected to play.
