Tristan Thompson was hit in the mouth during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers, and he had to leave to the locker room. Thompson did not return to the game as he was sidelined with a mouth Injury, but it seems that he will be ready to play Wednesday night against the Denver Nuggets.
The Cleveland Cavaliers managed to beat the Lakers without Thompson, but he is undoubtedly one of the key players of the team and they need him to stay healthy. The big man has played in a league-leading 439 straight games, and the last game he missed was against the Miami Heat, on January 24, 2012.
Tristan Thompson is a key player for Cleveland
Even though he is undersized at 6'9", Tristan Thompson is one of the best rebounders in the NBA and his ability to grab offensive rebounds is unmatched. This season, the 26-year old big man is averaging 9.5 rebounds per game and he ranks fourth in offensive rebounds.
Thompson is very important for the success of the Cleveland Cavaliers as he creates a lot of second-chance opportunities. He plays physical basketball and is not afraid to match up against bigger and stronger players. Fortunately for the Cavaliers, he is expected to play against the Nuggets as his mouth guard prevented him from suffering a major injury in the last game. "If I didn't have a good mouth guard, I'd have a tough time having a good dinner tonight, so God bless my mouth guard," said the big man.
(ESPN).
Cavaliers cannot afford to lose more players
At the moment, the Cleveland Cavaliers are playing without their best shooter, Kyle Korver, who is out with a foot injury. Besides Korver, the veteran guard Deron Williams injured his thumb and will most likely be out for a few games. All these injuries affect the Cavaliers as they were 5-5 in their last ten games.
With 13 games left in the season, the Cavaliers clinched a playoff berth, but they are far away from securing the first seed in the conference. Cleveland is only two games ahead of the second-seeded Boston Celtics, and losing a few more games could also mean losing home-court advantage in the playoffs.
